Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पुरासीदत्र गोपालः कश्चित्कुष्ठसमावृतः । चमत्कारपुरं विप्र अतीव क्षामतां गतः

Transliteration

purāsīdatra gopālaḥ kaścitkuṣṭhasamāvṛtaḥ | camatkārapuraṃ vipra atīva kṣāmatāṃ gataḥ

Translation

في سالف الزمان كان في ذلك الموضع راعٍ للبقر قد غطّاه داءُ الجُذام. يا أيها البراهمن، وفي مدينة تُدعى تشاماتكارابورا (Camatkārapura) صار شديد الهزال والضعف.

Word by Word

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kala (Time adjunct/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly)

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (here)

• gopālaḥ: a cowherd
• gopālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kaścit: some (one)
• kaścit: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścit (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• kuṣṭha-samāvṛtaḥ: covered with leprosy
• kuṣṭha-samāvṛtaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṣṭha-sam-āvṛta (प्रातिपदिक; कुष्ठ + समावृत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (P.P.P. of सम्+आ√वृ ‘to cover’), विशेषणम्

• camatkārapuram: to Camatkāra-pura
• camatkārapuram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: camatkāra-pura (प्रातिपदिक; चमत्कार + पुर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः कर्म (object of gataḥ)

• vipra: O brāhmaṇa
• vipra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधनम्

• atīva: exceedingly
• atīva: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तीव्रतावाचक (very/exceedingly)

• kṣāmatām: emaciation; weakness
• kṣāmatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣāmatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (state/condition)

• gataḥ: having gone; having reached; having become
• gataḥ: Kriya (Participial predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्यय (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomukha (context for forthcoming cure)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor / Naimiṣāraṇya sages (the verse addresses ‘vipra’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A thin, leprosy-afflicted cowherd in a modest town setting; compassionate onlookers; distant hint of the sacred landscape he will approach (stream/kuṇḍa).

Characters & Entities

• Gopāla (cowherd)
• Camatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human suffering and illness become the narrative doorway through which a tīrtha’s compassion and purifying power is revealed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is set near Gomukha-tīrtha, in the locale associated with Camatkārapura.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse; it introduces the afflicted devotee whose encounter with the sacred waters will unfold.