Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

नागह्रदं तु तत्तीर्थमेतद्भावि धरातले । अत्र यः श्रावणे मासि पञ्चम्यां भक्तितत्परः

Transliteration

nāgahradaṃ tu tattīrthametadbhāvi dharātale | atra yaḥ śrāvaṇe māsi pañcamyāṃ bhaktitatparaḥ

Translation

هذا الموضع بعينه سيصير على وجه الأرض مَعْبَراً مقدّساً (تيرثا) يُدعى «ناغاهْرَدا». فمن أتى إلى هنا في شهر شرافَنا، في اليوم القمري الخامس، مخلصاً في الإيمان والبهكتي…

Word by Word

• nāga-hradam: the serpent-lake
• nāga-hradam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक) + hrada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) ‘hrada’, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (nāgānāṃ hradaḥ)

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• tat-tīrtham: that sacred ford/place
• tat-tīrtham: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया/प्रथमा (Acc/Nom), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारयः (‘that’ as qualifier)

• etat-bhāvi: to be (known) as this / of this name (future designation)
• etat-bhāvi: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम) + bhāvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘this’ + ‘to be/coming to be’)

• dharā-tale: on the surface of the earth
• dharā-tale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dharāyāḥ tale)

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

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम

• śrāvaṇe: in (the month of) Śrāvaṇa
• śrāvaṇe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pañcamyām: on the fifth (lunar day)
• pañcamyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañcamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); तिथिवाचक

• bhakti-tat-paraḥ: devotion-focused, devoted
• bhakti-tat-paraḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + tatpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (bhakteḥ tatparaḥ = devoted to devotion)

Speaker

Devī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāgahrada

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil lake/pond (hrada) near Arbuda caves, with Nāga motifs on stones; pilgrims arrive in monsoon month, offering milk/flowers, preparing for pañcamī observance.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Nāgahrada
• Śrāvaṇa
• Pañcamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa links sacred geography with devotional time: faith-filled observance on auspicious dates activates tīrtha-merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāgahrada—named explicitly as a future tīrtha on the earth.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance in Śrāvaṇa on pañcamī with devotion is introduced (completed in the next verse with snāna).