Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

तच्छ्रुत्वा त्रिदिवेन्द्रोऽपि मत्वा तां गोपकन्यकाम् । जगृहे त्वरया युक्तस्तक्रं चोत्सृज्य भूतले

Transliteration

tacchrutvā tridivendro'pi matvā tāṃ gopakanyakām | jagṛhe tvarayā yuktastakraṃ cotsṛjya bhūtale

Translation

فلما سمع ذلك ربُّ العوالم الثلاثة (إندرا)، وظنّها فتاةَ رعاةٍ، أسرع فقبض عليها بعد أن ألقى لبنَ المخيض على الأرض.

Word by Word

• तत्: that (statement)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘तत्’ = “that (speech/statement)” (object of hearing)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/gerund): “having heard”

• त्रिदिवेन्द्रः: Indra, lord of heaven
• त्रिदिवेन्द्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिदिव (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive tatpuruṣa: “lord of heaven”)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-अव्यय (particle: “also/even”)

• मत्वा: having considered
• मत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive): “having thought/considered”

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गोपकन्यकाम्: (as) a cowherd girl
• गोपकन्यकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोप (प्रातिपदिक) + कन्यका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (cowherd’s girl)

• जगृहे: took/seized
• जगृहे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• त्वरया: with haste
• त्वरया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• युक्तः: endowed (with)
• युक्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (predicative: “endowed/connected”)

• तक्रम्: buttermilk
• तक्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: “and”)

• उत्सृज्य: having thrown away
• उत्सृज्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत् + सृज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive): “having cast away/abandoned”

• भूतले: on the ground
• भूतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, hurried and forceful, grabs the maiden; the buttermilk pot falls and spills onto the earth—white liquid splashing against brown ground—capturing the instant of wrongdoing.

Characters & Entities

• Tridivendra (Indra)
• Gopakanyā
• Takra (buttermilk)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The narrative stresses the overpowering urgency of a destined ritual moment, though it also sets up a moral tension resolved through purification rites later.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha framework is present; the explicit glorification is tied to the kuṇḍa and bathing described in subsequent verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, the urgency arises from a yajña-related need; the verse itself narrates Indra’s action rather than a rule.