Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

ततस्तीर्थान्यनेकानि स दृष्ट्वायतनानि च । क्षेत्रेऽत्रैव समायातः स्नानार्थं पांडुनन्दनः

Transliteration

tatastīrthānyanekāni sa dṛṣṭvāyatanāni ca | kṣetre'traiva samāyātaḥ snānārthaṃ pāṃḍunandanaḥ

Translation

Daraufhin, nachdem er viele Tīrthas besucht und zahlreiche Heiligtümer geschaut hatte, kam der Sohn Pāṇḍus in eben diese heilige Gegend, um das rituelle Bad zu vollziehen.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषणम्/सम्बन्धबोधकः); अर्थे—अनन्तरम् (thereafter)

• tīrthāni: holy places (tīrthas)
• tīrthāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• anekāni: many
• anekāni: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aneka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tīrthāni)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया/absolutive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिकक्रिया (having seen)

• āyatanāni: shrines/abodes
• āyatanāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyatana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• kṣetre: in the sacred field/region
• kṣetre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• samāyātaḥ: arrived
• samāyātaḥ: Karta (Subject-predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (धातु)
• Form: भूतकालिक-कर्तरि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अर्थे—आगतः (having come/arrived)

• snāna-artham: for bathing
• snāna-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/उद्देश्य-भावः: स्नानस्य अर्थः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (for the purpose)

• pāṇḍu-nandanaḥ: son of Pāṇḍu (Arjuna)
• pāṇḍu-nandanaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बोधनवत्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇḍu (प्रातिपदिक) + nandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: पाण्डोः नन्दनः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arjuneśvara-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer/audience (not specified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Pāṇḍava prince arrives at a sacred kṣetra after a long pilgrimage, with multiple shrines in the background and a river/kuṇḍa-ghāṭ prepared for ritual bathing.

Characters & Entities

• Pāṇḍu-nandana (Arjuna)
• Tīrthas (many)
• Āyatanas (shrines)
• Kṣetra (this region—unnamed in the snippet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is both movement through sacred geography and inner purification—culminating in tīrtha-snāna within a sanctified kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to “this very kṣetra” but does not name it in the snippet; the surrounding text of the adhyāya typically identifies the specific locale.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) in the sacred kṣetra is explicitly stated as the purpose of arrival.