Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

सततं शोष्यमाणोऽपि वाडवेन दिवानिशम् । समुद्रसलिलं मेघाः समादाय ततः परम्

Transliteration

satataṃ śoṣyamāṇo'pi vāḍavena divāniśam | samudrasalilaṃ meghāḥ samādāya tataḥ param

Translation

ومع أنه يُجفَّف على الدوام ليلًا ونهارًا بنارِ البحرِ الكامنة (فادافا)، فإن السُّحُبَ تلتقطُ مياهَ المحيط، ومن ثمَّ…

Word by Word

• सततम्: constantly
• सततम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सतत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb)

• शोष्यमाणः: being dried up
• शोष्यमाणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुष् (धातु) → शोष्यमाण (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/भावे शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘being dried up’

• अपि: even/although
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle)

• वाडवेन: by the submarine fire (Vāḍava)
• वाडवेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाडव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; instrumental

• दिवानिशम्: day and night
• दिवानिशम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adverbial/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिवा (अव्यय) + निशम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्राय द्वन्द्वसमास (दिवा-निशम्), अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• समुद्रसलिलम्: sea-water
• समुद्रसलिलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (समुद्रस्य सलिलम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• मेघाः: clouds
• मेघाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• समादाय: having taken up
• समादाय: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-दा (धातु) → समादाय (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund), ‘having taken up/collected’

• ततः: from there/thereafter
• ततः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/thereafter; ablatival adverb)

• परम्: further/afterwards
• परम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb: ‘further/afterwards’)

Speaker

Śiva

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast ocean under a night sky; beneath the waves a glowing submarine fire dries waters, while above, dark monsoon clouds draw up vapor in spiraling streams—cosmic balance rendered as simultaneous drying and gathering.

Characters & Entities

• Vāḍava (submarine fire)
• Ocean
• Clouds (Meghāḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic balance is maintained through opposing forces—desiccation and replenishment—under divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a single tīrtha; it provides a cosmological frame supporting the sanctity of ocean and river systems.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly.