Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तुलसी शुष्ककाष्ठेषु या रूपा विश्वव्यापिनी । मज्जायां पद्मवासा च त्वचासु च हरिप्रिया

Transliteration

tulasī śuṣkakāṣṭheṣu yā rūpā viśvavyāpinī | majjāyāṃ padmavāsā ca tvacāsu ca haripriyā

Translation

যে তুলসী বিশ্বব্যাপিনী রূপধারিণী, সে শুকনো কাঠেও অধিষ্ঠিত। তার মজ্জায় পদ্মবাসা (লক্ষ্মী), আর বাকল/ত্বকে হরিপ্রিয়া—হরির প্রিয়া—বিরাজ করেন।

Word by Word

• तुलसी: Tulasi
• तुलसी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुलसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शुष्ककाष्ठेषु: in dry pieces of wood
• शुष्ककाष्ठेषु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुष्क-काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शुष्क + काष्ठ (कर्मधारयः ‘dry wood’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• या: who/which
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (relative pronoun)

• रूपा: form
• रूपा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विश्वव्यापिनी: all-pervading
• विश्वव्यापिनी: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व-व्यापिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विश्व + व्यापिनी (व्याप्-धातु से शतृ/णिनि-प्रत्ययान्त ‘pervading’); तत्पुरुषः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मज्जायाम्: in the marrow/pith
• मज्जायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मज्जा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पद्मवासा: dwelling in the lotus
• पद्मवासा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पद्म-वासा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पद्म + वासा (उपपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘lotus-dwelling’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• त्वचासु: in the bark/skins
• त्वचासु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वचा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• हरिप्रिया: dear to Hari
• हरिप्रिया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हरि-प्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: हरि + प्रिया (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘dear to Hari’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative voice commonly attributes didactic praise to Skanda)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cross-section vision of Tulasi: dried wood still glowing; pith revealed as a lotus-seat (Padmavāsā), bark as Haripriyā; the plant shown as cosmic, subtly filling the universe behind it.

Characters & Entities

• Tulasī
• Lakṣmī (Padmavāsā)
• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tulasī is portrayed as intrinsically sacred in every part—wood, pith, and bark—making her constant reverence a direct form of devotion to Lakṣmī and Hari.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions as a Tīrthamāhātmya-style glorification of Tulasī herself rather than naming a single geographic tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it establishes the sanctity of Tulasī’s very substance as the basis for later practices (carrying, worship, service).