Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

तत्रापश्यत्स संप्राप्तं नारदं मुनिसत्तमम् । तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन दामोदरदिदृक्षया

Transliteration

tatrāpaśyatsa saṃprāptaṃ nāradaṃ munisattamam | tīrthayātrāprasaṃgena dāmodaradidṛkṣayā

Translation

সেখানে সে মুনিশ্রেষ্ঠ নারদকে উপস্থিত দেখল—তীর্থযাত্রার উপলক্ষে এবং দামোদরের দর্শন-ইচ্ছায় আগত।

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative—place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• अपश्यत्: saw
• अपश्यत्: Kriya (क्रिया/Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

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

• संप्राप्तम्: arrived
• संप्राप्तम्: Karman (कर्म/Object—qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+प्र+आप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नारदम् इति विशेषण

• नारदम्: Narada
• नारदम्: Karman (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• मुनिसत्तमम्: the best of sages
• मुनिसत्तमम्: Karman (कर्म/Object—apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मुनिनां सत्तमः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नारदम् इति विशेषण

• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन: by the occasion of a pilgrimage
• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन: Karana/Hetu (करण/हेतु—cause/occasion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रसङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तीर्थयात्रायाः प्रसङ्गः); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• दामोदरदिदृक्षया: due to the desire to see Dāmodara
• दामोदरदिदृक्षया: Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दामोदर (प्रातिपदिक) + दिदृक्षा (प्रातिपदिक; desiderative noun from दृश्)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दामोदरस्य दिदृक्षा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; third-person narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dāmodara-darśana tīrtha (implied)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārada, radiant and serene, arrives at the sacred place with vīṇā, clearly a pilgrim himself; the king beholds him with awe; subtle iconographic hint of Dāmodara’s shrine nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Dāmodara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy association—meeting a great sage during pilgrimage—becomes a doorway to divine vision (darśana) and guidance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse frames a tīrtha-setting within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya, emphasizing pilgrimage culture; the precise site is not named in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; it highlights tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage) and the devotional aim of Dāmodara-darśana.