Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 102

Devanagari script

ततो दृष्ट्वा सहस्राक्षः प्रभावं तज्जलोद्भवम् । पांसुभिः पूरयामास समंताद्भयसंकुलम्

Transliteration

tato dṛṣṭvā sahasrākṣaḥ prabhāvaṃ tajjalodbhavam | pāṃsubhiḥ pūrayāmāsa samaṃtādbhayasaṃkulam

Translation

Dann sah Sahasrākṣa (Indra) die außergewöhnliche Kraft, die aus jenem Wasser aufstieg; von Furcht ergriffen, füllte er es ringsum mit Staub auf.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — ‘then/thereupon’

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु) + क्त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त — ‘having seen’

• sahasrākṣaḥ: Sahasrākṣa (Indra)
• sahasrākṣaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasrākṣa (प्रातिपदिक; sahasra + akṣa)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — बहुव्रीहिः ‘he whose eyes are a thousand’ (इन्द्रः)

• prabhāvam: the power
• prabhāvam: Karma (Object of dṛṣṭvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘power/effect’

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (समासाङ्ग) ‘that’

• jala-udbhavam: born from the water
• jala-udbhavam: Visheshana (Qualifier of karma)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jalodbhava (प्रातिपदिक; jala + udbhava)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् ‘prabhāvam’: ‘arisen from water’

• pāṃsubhiḥ: with dust/sand
• pāṃsubhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṃsu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन — ‘with dust/sand’

• pūrayāmāsa: filled
• pūrayāmāsa: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pṝ (धातु) (पूरयति-णिजन्त)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘he filled’ (causative sense)

• samantāt: on all sides
• samantāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantāt (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — ‘on all sides’

• bhayasaṃkulam: (the area) full of fear
• bhayasaṃkulam: Karma (Object, implied ‘place/area’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhayasaṃkula (प्रातिपदिक; bhaya + saṃkula)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (अध्याहृतं कर्म) ‘(place) filled with fear’

Speaker

Narrative voice (speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra (Sahasrākṣa) with a thousand-eyed aura looks down at a radiant water-source; in alarm he commands or causes dust to pour and cover the area around the water.

Characters & Entities

• Sahasrākṣa (Indra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters possess divine potency that even gods acknowledge; worldly power reacts with fear before true spiritual force.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same tīrtha of Adhyāya 103—its water-source is presented as miraculously potent, prompting Indra’s response.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse narrates a mythic act (covering with dust) explaining the tīrtha’s history.