Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

तत्र स्थाने स्वयं गत्वा ज्ञात्वा च तीर्थमुत्तमम् । तपस्तेपे स तत्रैव ध्यायमानो दिवाकरम्

Transliteration

tatra sthāne svayaṃ gatvā jñātvā ca tīrthamuttamam | tapastepe sa tatraiva dhyāyamāno divākaram

Translation

Er ging selbst zu jener Stätte, erkannte sie als ein erhabenes Tīrtha und übte dort sogleich Askese, indem er Divākara, die Sonne, meditierte.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण)

• स्थाने: in the place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• स्वयम्: himself
• स्वयम्: Karta (Emphatic agent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्वकर्तृकत्व/स्वयंकृत-भाव)

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययीभाव), ‘having gone’

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययीभाव), ‘having known/recognized’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• तीर्थम्: the sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent; supreme
• उत्तमम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्)

• तपः: austerity; penance
• तपः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन (छान्दस/प्रयोगः); ‘austerity’

• तेपे: he practiced (penance)
• तेपे: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिप्रास/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; ‘he performed austerity’

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

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण-निपात)

• ध्यायमानः: meditating
• ध्यायमानः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त (वर्तमानकाले), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘meditating’

• दिवाकरम्: the Sun (Divākara)
• दिवाकरम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Divākara/Bhāskara-tīrtha (implied)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the tīrtha’s edge, the devotee sits in meditation facing the rising sun, performing tapas; the landscape suggests a sanctified grove with a luminous solar path on the water.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• Divākara (Sūrya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True recognition of a tīrtha leads to sādhana: one responds to grace by tapas and deity-meditation, deepening the blessing into realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

An ‘uttama-tīrtha’ in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Adhyāya 212, especially connected with Divākara/Bhāskara worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) and dhyāna (meditation) on Divākara at the tīrtha.