Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

ततो मया समं गत्वा शोषिते वरुणालये । हंतव्या दानवा दुष्टा हन्त यैः पीड्यते जगत्

Transliteration

tato mayā samaṃ gatvā śoṣite varuṇālaye | haṃtavyā dānavā duṣṭā hanta yaiḥ pīḍyate jagat

Translation

Dann kommt mit mir, wenn Varuṇas Wohnstätte (der Ozean) ausgetrocknet ist; jene bösen Dānavas müssen getötet werden – von denen die Welt gequält wird.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (then/from there)

• मया: with me; by me
• मया: Saha (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन

• समम्: together
• समम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: सहभाववाचक-अव्यय (together/equally)

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• शोषिते: when (it is) dried up; in the dried-up (state)
• शोषिते: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुष् (धातु) → शोषित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वरुणालये)

• वरुणालये: in Varuṇa’s abode (the ocean)
• वरुणालये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरुण (प्रातिपदिक) + आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘वरुणस्य आलयः’ (समुद्रः)

• हन्तव्याः: to be slain
• हन्तव्याः: Karma (To be acted upon/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हन्तव्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्यय (gerundive/obligative), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (दानवाः)

• दानवाः: Dānavas
• दानवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• दुष्टाः: wicked
• दुष्टाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (दानवाः)

• हन्त: alas!/indeed!/come!
• हन्त: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हन्त (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार/सम्बोधन-निपात (interjection)

• यैः: by whom
• यैः: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धे—‘by whom’

• पीड्यते: is tormented
• पीड्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पीड् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Agastya (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Varuṇālaya / Sāgara (mythic dried phase)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya leads devas onto the dried ocean-bed; wicked Dānavas stand exposed, ready to be slain, while the world’s suffering is implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Varuṇa
• Ocean (Varuṇālaya)
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When the world is oppressed, dhārmic forces must remove the cause of suffering after making hidden threats accessible.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Varuṇa’s abode—the ocean—is the central locus; the tīrtha significance is tied to the sanctifying events occurring there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse outlines a coordinated dhārmic action following a transformative event (drying the ocean).