Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

अनभिज्ञास्तमिस्रस्य यस्य सानुनिवासिनः । रत्नप्रभाप्रणुन्नस्य कृष्णपक्षनिशास्वपि

Transliteration

anabhijñāstamisrasya yasya sānunivāsinaḥ | ratnaprabhāpraṇunnasya kṛṣṇapakṣaniśāsvapi

Translation

Die Bewohner seiner Hänge kennen keine Finsternis; denn der Glanz der Edelsteine vertreibt sie — selbst in den Nächten der dunklen Monatshälfte.

Word by Word

• anabhijñāḥ: unaware
• anabhijñāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-abhijña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्गयुक्त विशेषण (not knowing)

• tamisrasya: of darkness
• tamisrasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamisra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sānu-nivāsinaḥ: slope-dwellers
• sānu-nivāsinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sānu (प्रातिपदिक) + nivāsin (निवस् धातु से णिनि/इन् प्रत्ययान्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (sānu-nivāsin = 'dweller on slopes'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ratna-prabhā-praṇunnasya: (darkness) dispelled by gem-light
• ratna-prabhā-praṇunnasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhā (प्रातिपदिक) + pra-ṇud (णुद् धातु) → praṇunna (क्त कृदन्त)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (ratna-prabhā = 'gem-light'; ratna-prabhā-praṇunna = 'driven away by gem-light'); षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेष्य: 'tamisrasya'

• kṛṣṇa-pakṣa-niśāsu: even in the nights of the dark fortnight
• kṛṣṇa-pakṣa-niśāsu: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa = 'dark fortnight'; kṛṣṇa-pakṣa-niśā = 'nights of the dark fortnight'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-प्रयोग (particle: 'even/also')

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vindhya (ratna-prabhā region)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night on Vindhya during the dark fortnight: the slopes glow from embedded jewels or radiant stones, bathing trees and dwellings in light; inhabitants move without lamps, untouched by darkness.

Characters & Entities

• Vindhya (Mountain)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a sanctified realm, ‘darkness’—literal and symbolic—is overcome by inner radiance and divine auspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vindhya’s slopes are depicted as extraordinary, shining even in inauspicious-looking times (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the emphasis is on the miraculous auspiciousness of the sacred terrain.