Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ऋषय ऊचुः । यदेतद्भवता प्रोक्तं तत्रस्थं जलशायिनम् । बिलद्वारे कथं सूत तत्र नः संशयो महान्

Transliteration

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | yadetadbhavatā proktaṃ tatrasthaṃ jalaśāyinam | biladvāre kathaṃ sūta tatra naḥ saṃśayo mahān

Translation

Die Weisen sprachen: „Was du verkündet hast—dass Jalaśāyī dort, am Eingang der Höhle, weile—wie kann das sein, o Sūta? In diesem Punkt haben wir großen Zweifel.“

Word by Word

• ṛṣayaḥ: sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; with etat (apposition)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; object of proktam (said)

• bhavatā: by you (sir)
• bhavatā: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (आदरार्थ), तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; agent-instrumental in passive construction

• proktam: said, spoken
• proktam: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra√vac (धातु) + prokta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; predicate with etat

• tatra-stham: situated there
• tatra-stham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tatra (अव्यय) + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: अव्ययीभाव (तत्र स्थितम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; qualifies jalaśāyinam

• jala-śāyinam: the one who lies in water (Viṣṇu)
• jala-śāyinam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + śāyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (जले शायी), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• bila-dvāre: at the cave-entrance
• bila-dvāre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bila (प्रातिपदिक) + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (बिलस्य द्वारम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नाव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• sūta: O Sūta
• sūta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशाव्यय (locative adverb)

• naḥ: our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; enclitic (our)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• mahān: great
• mahān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; adjective of saṃśayaḥ

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jalaśāyī at Biladvāra (as described)

Type: cave

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of sages seated near a rocky cave-mouth with a small shrine; they gesture in inquiry toward Sūta, who sits as narrator with palm-leaf manuscript; the cave entrance is framed as a liminal threshold between worlds.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Sūta
• Jalaśāyī
• Biladvāra (cave-entrance)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage narratives invite inquiry: sacred geography is clarified through dialogue and authoritative explanation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A biladvāra (cave-entrance) shrine associated with Jalaśāyī is referenced as the focal sacred spot.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed in this verse; it introduces a question about the deity’s location.