Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

यथा दधिगतं सर्पिर्निगूढत्वेन संस्थितम् । चराचरेषु भूतेषु तथा त्वं देव संस्थितः

Transliteration

yathā dadhigataṃ sarpirnigūḍhatvena saṃsthitam | carācareṣu bhūteṣu tathā tvaṃ deva saṃsthitaḥ

Translation

كما أن السمنَ (الغي) يكون مستورًا في اللبنِ الرائب، كذلك أنتَ أيها الإلهُ قائمٌ خفيًّا في جميع الكائنات، المتحركةِ والساكنةِ.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय

• दधिगतम्: contained in curd
• दधिगतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of सर्पिः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दधि + गत (गम्-धातु, कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘गत’; समास: दध्नि गतं इति (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष)

• सर्पिः: ghee
• सर्पिः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्पिस्/सर्पि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; रूपम्: सर्पिः

• निगूढत्वेन: by (its) hiddenness
• निगूढत्वेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निगूढत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; भाववाचक-तद्धितान्त (-त्व)

• संस्थितम्: present/established
• संस्थितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of सर्पिः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-स्था (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle)

• चराचरेषु: in moving and unmoving (beings)
• चराचरेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Locus)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चर + अचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व: चराणि च अचराणि च; विशेषणम् (भूतेषु)

• भूतेषु: in beings
• भूतेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन

• तथा: so
• तथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तुलनावाचक अव्यय (so/in the same way)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• संस्थितः: are present/abide
• संस्थितः: Viśeṣya (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-स्था (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विधेयविशेषणम् (त्वम्)

Speaker

A devotee (tīrtha-related narrator context; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmeśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An allegory: a pot of curd with a golden stream of ghee implied within; simultaneously, the deity’s subtle light resides inside humans, animals, trees, stones—both jaṅgama and sthāvara—radiating softly from within.

Characters & Entities

• Sarpiḥ (ghee)
• Dadhi (curd)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is immanent in all existence; spiritual practice is the ‘churning’ that reveals the hidden divine presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is a universal teaching used within a tīrtha narrative; it does not specify a named tīrtha in isolation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the imagery implies inner effort (sādhana) that reveals the concealed reality.