Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

तस्याः संनिधिमाजग्मुस्तस्मिन्नेव जलाशये । यत्र सा पूजयेद्गौरीं कृत्वा तां पञ्च पिंडिकाम्

Transliteration

tasyāḥ saṃnidhimājagmustasminneva jalāśaye | yatra sā pūjayedgaurīṃ kṛtvā tāṃ pañca piṃḍikām

Translation

Sie traten zu ihr an eben jenem heiligen Wasserbecken heran, wo sie, nachdem sie fünf kleine Piṇḍas aus Lehm geformt hatte, Gaurī verehrte.

Word by Word

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• saṃnidhim: presence/nearby place
• saṃnidhim: Karma (Goal/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃnidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• ājagmuḥ: came/arrived
• ājagmuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā+gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• jalāśaye: in the reservoir/pond
• jalāśaye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (जलस्य आशयः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Relative location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• pūjayet: would/should worship
• pūjayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• gaurīm: Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• gaurīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having made/done’

• tām: that
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• pañca: five
• pañca: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-शब्द (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• piṃḍikām: (a) lump/ball (piṇḍikā)
• piṃḍikām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṃḍikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The women walk together to the reservoir’s edge; the devotee is seated on a flat stone, shaping five small clay piṇḍikās; a subtle icon of Gaurī (or a small shrine) is present; the water reflects the scene like a mirror.

Characters & Entities

• Gaurī
• Jalāśaya
• Pañca-piṇḍikā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is not only geography but practiced devotion—place, rite, and deity converge to generate merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A jalāśaya (sacred water-body) central to Adhyāya 177’s Gaurī-pūjā narrative in the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship of Gaurī at the jalāśaya after making five clay piṇḍikās (pañca-piṇḍikā).