Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

गालव उवाच । अमृतं जलमित्याहुश्चातुर्मास्ये तदिच्छया । लीलया विधृतं देवैः पिबंति द्रुमदेवताः

Transliteration

gālava uvāca | amṛtaṃ jalamityāhuścāturmāsye tadicchayā | līlayā vidhṛtaṃ devaiḥ pibaṃti drumadevatāḥ

Translation

Gālava sprach: „In der Zeit des Cāturmāsya nennt man Wasser nach ihrem Willen ‘amṛta’, Nektar. Von den Göttern in göttlichem Spiel (līlā) getragen, trinken es die in den Bäumen weilenden Gottheiten.“

Word by Word

• gālavaḥ: Gālava
• gālavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gālava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Perfect, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• amṛtam: nectar/ambrosia
• amṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Singular (apposition)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, इति-शब्दः (quotative particle) — Indeclinable marking quotation

• āhuḥ: they say
• āhuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — Present, 3rd person, Plural, Parasmaipada

• cāturmāsye: in the Cāturmāsya (four-month period)
• cāturmāsye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative, Singular

• tat: of that (deity)
• tat: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन — Feminine, Genitive, Singular (with icchā)

• icchayā: by (his) will
• icchayā: Hetu/Karana (Cause/Instrument/हेतु/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: icchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन — Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• līlayā: playfully/as a sport
• līlayā: Kriya-visheshana/Hetu (Manner/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: līlā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन — Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• vidhṛtam: held/sustained
• vidhṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय (भूतकर्मणि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Past passive participle, Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• devaiḥ: by the gods
• devaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• pibanti: they drink
• pibanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — Present, 3rd person, Plural, Parasmaipada

• druma-devatāḥ: tree-deities
• druma-devatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: druma (प्रातिपदिक) + devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Plural; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (द्रुमस्य देवताः) — genitive tatpurusha “deities of trees”

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Paija-vana (tree-deity locus)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śūdra questioner

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Gālava explains while devotees pour water at the roots of trees; within the trunks, faint divine forms receive the offering; water is depicted as luminous, like nectar, especially under monsoon clouds.

Characters & Entities

• Gālava
• Cāturmāsya
• Devas
• Druma-devatāḥ (tree deities)
• Amṛta (as water)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

During sacred seasons, ordinary elements like water are to be treated as divine gifts, sustaining life and worship—linking ecology with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya’s Cāturmāsya section, but the verse itself emphasizes the sanctity of water rather than a named tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly: offer and provide water (as amṛta) to trees/tree-deities during Cāturmāsya.