Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

धर्मवृक्षस्य वाताली चित्तपद्मशशिप्रभा । सृष्टा कामार्णवग्राही केन मोक्षदृढार्गला

Transliteration

dharmavṛkṣasya vātālī cittapadmaśaśiprabhā | sṛṣṭā kāmārṇavagrāhī kena mokṣadṛḍhārgalā

Translation

مَن الذي خلقها—وهي عاصفةٌ لشجرة الدَّرما، وضوءُ قمرٍ لِلوتسِ القلب، وتمساحٌ في محيط الشهوة، ومِزلاجٌ صُلبٌ على باب الخلاص؟

Word by Word

• dharma-vṛkṣasya: of the tree of dharma
• dharma-vṛkṣasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dharmasya vṛkṣaḥ)

• vātālī: a storm-wind (destroyer)
• vātālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vātālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• citta-padma-śaśi-prabhā: moonlike radiance for the lotus of the mind
• citta-padma-śaśi-prabhā: Karta (Appositional/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक) + padma (प्रातिपदिक) + śaśin (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (cittapadmasya śaśiprabhā iva prabhā)

• sṛṣṭā: created
• sṛṣṭā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa / Predicate participle
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि (created)

• kāma-arṇava-grāhī: a crocodile/seizer in the ocean of desire
• kāma-arṇava-grāhī: Karta (Appositional/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक) + grāhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (kāmārṇavaṃ gṛhṇāti iti)

• kena: by whom?
• kena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• mokṣa-dṛḍha-argalā: a firm bolt/bar to liberation
• mokṣa-dṛḍha-argalā: Karta (Appositional/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛḍha (प्रातिपदिक) + argalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (mokṣasya dṛḍhā argalā)

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator voice in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Allegorical panorama: a sturdy dharma-tree battered by a fierce wind; a serene moonbeam opening a lotus in a meditating mind; a crocodile lurking in a vast ocean labeled kāma; a heavy iron bolt barring a gate labeled mokṣa.

Characters & Entities

• Vedhā (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sensual fascination can appear attractive to the mind yet becomes destructive to dharma and obstructive to liberation; discernment is essential.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a contemplative teaching embedded in the Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a rhetorical-poetic reflection on obstacles to mokṣa.