Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

नागरूपं समाधाय रौद्रं जनविभीषणम् । भोगाग्र्येण च संवेष्ट्य पातालतलमभ्ययुः

Transliteration

nāgarūpaṃ samādhāya raudraṃ janavibhīṣaṇam | bhogāgryeṇa ca saṃveṣṭya pātālatalamabhyayuḥ

Translation

Er nahm eine grimmige Schlangengestalt an, die die Menschen erschreckte, und umschlang sie mit den mächtigsten Windungen seines Leibes; so stieg er hinab in die Ebenen von Pātāla, der Unterwelt.

Word by Word

• nāga-rūpam: serpent form
• nāga-rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (नाग, प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (रूप, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — serpent-form

• samādhāya: having assumed
• samādhāya: Kriya-viseshana (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√dhā (धा धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी — having assumed/taken on

• raudram: fierce
• raudram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudra (रौद्र, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — fierce (agreeing with nāgarūpam)

• jana-vibhīṣaṇam: terrifying to people
• jana-vibhīṣaṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jana (जन, प्रातिपदिक) + vibhīṣaṇa (विभीषण, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — terrifying to people (agreeing with nāgarūpam)

• bhoga-agryeṇa: with the foremost coil/hood
• bhoga-agryeṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhoga (भोग, प्रातिपदिक) + agrya (अग्र्य, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — with the foremost hood/coil

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च, अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) — and

• saṃveṣṭya: having wrapped around
• saṃveṣṭya: Kriya-viseshana (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√veṣṭ (वेष्ट् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी — having wrapped/encircled

• pātāla-talam: the region of Pātāla
• pātāla-talam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (पाताल, प्रातिपदिक) + tala (तल, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — the floor/region of Pātāla

• abhyayuḥ: they went to
• abhyayuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-√yā (या धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — they went/approached

Speaker

Narrator (contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A nāga assumes a terrifying serpent form, coils the woman tightly in powerful folds, and plunges downward into the subterranean realms of Pātāla.

Characters & Entities

• Takṣaka
• Pātāla
• Nāga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained power driven by passion leads one away from the human moral order (dharma) into darker realms of consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; this line itself focuses on the descent to Pātāla rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative description.