Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

जंबूर्मेघैः परिवृतः कृष्णवर्णोऽघनाशनः । कृष्णस्य सदृशो वर्णस्तेन जंबू नगोत्तमः

Transliteration

jaṃbūrmeghaiḥ parivṛtaḥ kṛṣṇavarṇo'ghanāśanaḥ | kṛṣṇasya sadṛśo varṇastena jaṃbū nagottamaḥ

Translation

Der Jambū-Baum, von Wolken umhüllt, ist dunkel gefärbt und vernichtet Sünde. Seine Farbe gleicht der Kṛṣṇas; darum ist Jambū der vornehmste unter den Bäumen.

Word by Word

• जम्बूः: Jambū tree
• जम्बूः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जम्बू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (क्वचित् पुं), प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• मेघैः: by/with clouds
• मेघैः: Sahakari (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण/सह), बहुवचन

• परिवृतः: surrounded
• परिवृतः: Kriya (Predicate adjective/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘surrounded’

• कृष्णवर्णः: having a black color
• कृष्णवर्णः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्ण + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (कृष्णो वर्णो यस्य सः)

• अघनाशनः: destroyer of sin
• अघनाशनः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अघ + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अघस्य नाशनः)

• कृष्णस्य: of Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• सदृशः: similar
• सदृशः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण; (सदृश + षष्ठी) = ‘similar to’

• वर्णः: color
• वर्णः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• तेन: therefore, by that
• तेन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (करण/हेतु), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• जम्बू: Jambū
• जम्बू: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जम्बू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• नगोत्तमः: best of mountains
• नगोत्तमः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नग + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नगानाम् उत्तमः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jambū-vṛkṣa (within the kṣetra)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A majestic Jambū tree, its canopy ringed by low, silver-grey clouds; the trunk and fruit appear deep blue-black, evoking Kṛṣṇa’s complexion; pilgrims stand in quiet reverence as a subtle aura of purification radiates outward.

Characters & Entities

• Jambū tree
• Kṛṣṇa
• Megha (clouds)
• Agha (sin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion and sacred symbolism transform nature into a means of purification: the Jambū tree is praised as sin-destroying and Kṛṣṇa-like.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The glorification is of the Jambū tree within a tīrtha setting in Nāgara-khaṇḍa; the verse itself does not specify a named pilgrimage location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; it prepares the ground for offerings/acts connected with the Jambū tree in the surrounding verses.