Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

अथ धन्वतरिर्वैद्यः स्वबुद्ध्या पृथिवीपते । नागालाने यतो जाता नागवल्ली भविष्यति

Transliteration

atha dhanvatarirvaidyaḥ svabuddhyā pṛthivīpate | nāgālāne yato jātā nāgavallī bhaviṣyati

Translation

তখন দিব্য বৈদ্য ধন্বন্তরি, হে পৃথিবীপতি, স্ববুদ্ধিতে বললেন—‘নাগালয় প্রাঙ্গণে জন্মেছে বলে এর নাম হবে নাগবল্লী।’

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध/अनुक्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (particle: then/now)

• धन्वतरिः: Dhanvantari
• धन्वतरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन्वतरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• वैद्यः: the physician
• वैद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; धन्वतरिणः विशेषणरूपेण (appositional)

• स्वबुद्ध्या: by his own intellect
• स्वबुद्ध्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; ‘स्व-बुद्धि’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (own + intellect)

• पृथिवीपते: O lord of the earth
• पृथिवीपते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; ‘पृथिवी-पति’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• नागालाने: in the elephant-stable/elephant-tethering place
• नागालाने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + आलान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘नाग-आलान’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; स्थानवाचक (locative)

• यतः: from where
• यतः: Relation marker (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतस् (अव्यय/सम्बन्धाव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative adverb: from where/whence)

• जाता: born/arisen
• जाता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु) → जात (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक (born/arisen)

• नागवल्ली: Nāgavallī (betel vine)
• नागवल्ली: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + वल्ली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘नाग-वल्ली’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (nāga’s creeper / nāga-creeper)

• भविष्यति: will become
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future/लृट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person/प्रथमपुरुष), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgara Khaṇḍa context; specific speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāgālaya / Nāgālana

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pṛthivīpati (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dhanvantari, radiant physician-deity, points to a newly arisen creeper inside a nāga-enclosure and proclaims its name Nāgavallī before the king.

Characters & Entities

• Dhanvantari
• Nāgavallī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even ordinary cultural practices gain sanctity when traced to dharmic, sacred origins remembered in Purāṇic tradition.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to a sacred precinct called “Nāgālaya/Nāgālāna,” treated as a sanctified place of origin within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct injunction is given here; it establishes the sacred naming/origin of Nāgavallī, which later supports tāmbūla-related ritual culture.