Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

न जातु कामी कामानां सहस्रैरपि तुष्यति । हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव वांछा तस्य विवर्धते

Transliteration

na jātu kāmī kāmānāṃ sahasrairapi tuṣyati | haviṣā kṛṣṇavartmeva vāṃchā tasya vivardhate

Translation

沉溺欲望之人，即使享受千般乐事也永不满足；如同以供献之酥油喂养的火焰，他的贪求只会愈加炽盛。

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• jātu: ever/at any time
• jātu: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• kāmī: a lustful/desirous person
• kāmī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāmin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (one who desires)

• kāmānām: of desires/pleasures
• kāmānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• sahasraiḥ: by thousands
• sahasraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन; करण (instrumental)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• tuṣyati: is satisfied
• tuṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tuṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• haviṣā: with oblation (ghee offering)
• haviṣā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; उपमान-करण (instrument in simile)

• kṛṣṇa-vartmā: the black-path (fire)
• kṛṣṇa-vartmā: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vartman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (कृष्णं वर्त्म यस्य/कृष्णवर्त्मा)

• iva: like
• iva: Sambandha (Comparison marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (simile marker)

• vāṃchā: desire/longing
• vāṃchā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāñchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• vivardhate: increases
• vivardhate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛdh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: वि-

Speaker

Viśvāmitra (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Contextual) king/pilgrim interlocutor (māhātmya audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-king stands before a blazing sacrificial fire; each ladle of ghee makes the flames rise higher, symbolizing desire swelling with indulgence; in the background a tīrtha-ghāṭa suggests the corrective path of restraint.

Characters & Entities

• kāma
• vāñchā
• agni (implied by haviṣ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Indulgence strengthens craving; lasting welfare comes from restraint and contentment, not from multiplying pleasures.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is identified in this verse; it is a general puranic warning relevant to all tīrtha practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No pilgrimage rite is prescribed; the verse uses the analogy of havis (oblations) to teach that feeding desire increases it.