Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

आह्लादकारिणः शुभ्रा मणयो यत्र सुप्रभाः । नागांगाभरणप्रोताः पातालं केन तत्समम्

Transliteration

āhlādakāriṇaḥ śubhrā maṇayo yatra suprabhāḥ | nāgāṃgābharaṇaprotāḥ pātālaṃ kena tatsamam

Translation

Dort leuchten strahlend weiße, das Herz erfreuende Edelsteine von höchstem Glanz, zu Schmuck auf die Leiber der Nāgas gereiht—was könnte einem solchen Pātāla gleichkommen?

Word by Word

• आह्लाद-कारिणः: causing delight
• आह्लाद-कारिणः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आह्लाद (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) + णिनि/इनि (प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कृदन्त (कारिन् = 'doing/making'); विशेषण (मणयः)

• शुभ्राः: bright/white
• शुभ्राः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (मणयः)

• मणयः: gems
• मणयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative locative adverb)

• सुप्रभाः: very radiant
• सुप्रभाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + प्रभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (मणयः)

• नाग-अङ्ग-आभरण-प्रोताः: set/strung into the ornaments on serpents’ bodies
• नाग-अङ्ग-आभरण-प्रोताः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + आभरण (प्रातिपदिक) + प्र + वे/वय् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषण (मणयः); अर्थः—'नागानाम् अङ्गेषु आभरणेषु प्रोताः/प्रविष्टाः'

• पातालम्: Pātāla (netherworld)
• पातालम्: Karma (Object/Topic/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाक्ये विषयपदम्

• केन: by what? / with what?
• केन: Karana (Instrument/Comparison/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• तत्-समम्: equal to that
• तत्-समम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (पातालम्)

Speaker

Skanda (narrating; continuing the Nārada-themed description)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pātāla (Nāga-loka)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A glowing subterranean palace where Nāgas wear strings of radiant white gems; the cavern walls sparkle, casting cool light that 'delights the heart'.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla
• Nāgas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worlds of enjoyment can be astonishingly splendid; the Purāṇic point is to recognize splendor as not the final aim compared to liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No earthly tirtha is named; the verse describes Pātāla-loka’s opulence within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive cosmology.