Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

राजोवाच । पिता ममाहिना दष्टः प्रेतत्वं समुपागतः । सोऽत्र नागह्रदे श्राद्धे कृते मुक्तिमवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

rājovāca | pitā mamāhinā daṣṭaḥ pretatvaṃ samupāgataḥ | so'tra nāgahrade śrāddhe kṛte muktimavāpnuyāt

Translation

Der König sprach: „Mein Vater wurde von einer Schlange gebissen und ist in den Zustand eines Preta gefallen. Wenn hier in Nāgahrada die Śrāddha vollzogen wird, kann er Befreiung erlangen.“

Word by Word

• rājā: the king
• rājā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• pitā: father
• pitā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mama: of me / my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• ahinā: by a snake
• ahinā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• daṣṭaḥ: bitten
• daṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daś (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘pitā’

• pretatvam: state of being a preta (ghost)
• pretatvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta-tva (प्रातिपदिक; तद्धित -त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• samupāgataḥ: having reached / having attained
• samupāgataḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-upa-√gam (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘pitā’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• nāga-hrade: in the serpent-lake
• nāga-hrade: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक) + hrada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (nāgasya hradaḥ)

• śrāddhe: in/at the śrāddha rite
• śrāddhe: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• kṛte: when performed / having been done
• kṛte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute-like qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘śrāddhe’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• muktim: liberation
• muktim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• avāpnuyāt: may obtain
• avāpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-√āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Viṣṇusena (the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāgahrada

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grieving king at the edge of a serpent-haunted sacred lake (Nāgahrada) speaks of his father’s serpent-bite death and preta-state, seeking liberation through śrāddha at the tīrtha; water-lilies, nāga-emblems, and ritual vessels frame the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇusena
• Father of Viṣṇusena
• Nāgahrada
• Serpent (ahi)
• Preta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral suffering can be relieved through dharmic rites performed with faith at a sanctified tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāgahrada is explicitly named as the site where śrāddha can lead to liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of śrāddha at Nāgahrada for the uplift and liberation of a departed ancestor in preta-state.