Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

नागप्रवरमारुह्य स्वयमेव पितामह । यथाऽहं प्रक्षिपेत्तोये स स्यात्पापविवर्जितः

Transliteration

nāgapravaramāruhya svayameva pitāmaha | yathā'haṃ prakṣipettoye sa syātpāpavivarjitaḥ

Translation

Pitāmaha (Brahmā) selbst, auf dem erhabensten der Nāgas reitend, warf es ins Wasser; darum wird, wer diese Handlung auf jene Weise vollzieht, von Sünde frei.

Word by Word

• नागप्रवरम्: the excellent serpent (Nāga)
• नागप्रवरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रवर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (प्रवरः नागः)

• आरुह्य: having mounted
• आरुह्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ-रुह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive) — ‘आरुह्य’ = आरोहणं कृत्वा (having mounted)

• स्वयम्: oneself
• स्वयम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• पितामह: O Grandfather (Pitāmaha)
• पितामह: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• यथा: as / in the manner that
• यथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (conjunction/adverb)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• प्रक्षिपेत्: should throw/cast
• प्रक्षिपेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तोये: into the water
• तोये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

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

• स्यात्: would be / should become
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• पापविवर्जितः: free from sin
• पापविवर्जितः: Visheshya (Predicate adjective/विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + वि-वर्जित (वृज्/वर्ज् धातु + क्त, कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः/नञ्-वर्ज्यभावः (पापेन विवर्जितः = पापरहितः)

Speaker

Indra (implied; addressed by Brahmā later as Sahasrākṣa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, four-faced and radiant, rides a majestic Nāga over a sacred waterbody and drops/casts a consecrating item into the water; devotees witness the water’s transformation into a sin-purifying tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Nāga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred acts performed in continuity with a divine precedent (Brahmā’s own rite) become powerful means of pāpa-kṣaya (removal of sin).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred kuṇḍa (holy pond) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context; the passage frames it as a locally revered tīrtha centered on water-rite merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Casting an item into the tīrtha-water in the same manner as the divine act, as part of a merit-conferring observance.