Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

कदाचिन्महिषारूढः स प्रतस्थे दनोः सुतः । जाह्नवीतीरमासाद्य विनिघ्नञ्जलपक्षिणः

Transliteration

kadācinmahiṣārūḍhaḥ sa pratasthe danoḥ sutaḥ | jāhnavītīramāsādya vinighnañjalapakṣiṇaḥ

Translation

وذاتَ مرةٍ ركبَ ابنُ دانو جاموسًا وانطلق؛ فلما بلغ ضفةَ الجاهناڤي شرع يضرب طيورَ الماء هناك ويُسقطها.

Word by Word

• kadācit: once, at some time
• kadācit: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• mahiṣa-ārūḍhaḥ: mounted on a buffalo
• mahiṣa-ārūḍhaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ā-rūḍha (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सर्वनाम)

• pratasthe: set out, departed
• pratasthe: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-sthā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• danoḥ: of Danu
• danoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: danu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• sutaḥ: son
• sutaḥ: Apposition (सम्बोधन/विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jāhnavī-tīram: the bank of the Jāhnavī (Ganges)
• jāhnavī-tīram: Karma (Object/goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāhnavī (प्रातिपदिक) + tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• āsādya: having reached
• āsādya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-sad (धातु) + āsādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभाव

• vinighnan: striking down, killing
• vinighnan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ni-han (धातु) + nighnat (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण (simultaneous action)

• jala-pakṣiṇaḥ: water-birds
• jala-pakṣiṇaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (object)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) tīra

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Citrasama, son of Danu, riding a buffalo along the Jahnavī’s bank, striking down water-birds; the sacred river glows while birds scatter and fall, creating a stark contrast between holiness and cruelty.

Characters & Entities

• Danu
• Dānava
• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Jalapakṣi (water-birds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Violence committed at a sacred riverbank becomes an immediate cause for downfall in Purāṇic dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Jahnavī—Gaṅgā—whose banks are repeatedly treated as a major tīrtha-field in the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse instead highlights adharma (harm to living beings) at a tīrtha.