Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

रत्नावत्युवाच । एतज्जलाशयं पुण्यं पद्मिनीषण्ड मण्डितम्

Transliteration

ratnāvatyuvāca | etajjalāśayaṃ puṇyaṃ padminīṣaṇḍa maṇḍitam

Translation

Ratnāvatī sprach: «Möge dieses heilige Wasserbecken verdienstvoll sein, geschmückt mit dichten Gruppen von Lotospflanzen.»

Word by Word

• ratnāvatī: Ratnāvatī
• ratnāvatī: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratnāvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘jalāśayam’ इति विशेषणम्

• jalāśayam: water-reservoir/pond
• jalāśayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः: जलस्य आशयः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• puṇyam: holy/meritorious
• puṇyam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘jalāśayam’ इति विशेषणम्

• padminīṣaṇḍa: with a cluster of lotuses
• padminīṣaṇḍa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padminī + ṣaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः: पद्मिनीनां षण्डः), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; ‘maṇḍitam’ इत्यस्य करणम्

• maṇḍitam: adorned
• maṇḍitam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maṇḍ (धातु) + ita (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/इत), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘jalāśayam’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Ratnāvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ratnāvatī gestures toward a tranquil pond thick with lotus clusters; the water gleams, suggesting imminent consecration as a tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Ratnāvatī
• jalāśaya (sacred pond)
• lotuses (padminī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A devotee’s boon can sanctify geography—transforming a natural pond into a recognized tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A lotus-adorned sacred pond (jalāśaya) in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha cycle; its renown is developed in the next verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly establishes the site as holy; explicit practices like snāna are stated later.