Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

तत्र स्थाने स्वयं गत्वा ज्ञात्वा च तीर्थमुत्तमम् । तपस्तेपे स तत्रैव ध्यायमानो दिवाकरम्

Transliteration

tatra sthāne svayaṃ gatvā jñātvā ca tīrthamuttamam | tapastepe sa tatraiva dhyāyamāno divākaram

Translation

ومضى بنفسه إلى ذلك الموضع، وعرفه تيرثا فاضلًا؛ فأقام هناك يمارس التقشّف، متأمّلًا دِفاكَرَ—إله الشمس.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण)

• स्थाने: in the place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• स्वयम्: himself
• स्वयम्: Karta (Emphatic agent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्वकर्तृकत्व/स्वयंकृत-भाव)

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययीभाव), ‘having gone’

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययीभाव), ‘having known/recognized’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• तीर्थम्: the sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent; supreme
• उत्तमम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्)

• तपः: austerity; penance
• तपः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन (छान्दस/प्रयोगः); ‘austerity’

• तेपे: he practiced (penance)
• तेपे: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिप्रास/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; ‘he performed austerity’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण-निपात)

• ध्यायमानः: meditating
• ध्यायमानः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त (वर्तमानकाले), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘meditating’

• दिवाकरम्: the Sun (Divākara)
• दिवाकरम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Divākara/Bhāskara-tīrtha (implied)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the tīrtha’s edge, the devotee sits in meditation facing the rising sun, performing tapas; the landscape suggests a sanctified grove with a luminous solar path on the water.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• Divākara (Sūrya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True recognition of a tīrtha leads to sādhana: one responds to grace by tapas and deity-meditation, deepening the blessing into realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

An ‘uttama-tīrtha’ in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Adhyāya 212, especially connected with Divākara/Bhāskara worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) and dhyāna (meditation) on Divākara at the tīrtha.