Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मोवाच । तवार्थे कल्पयिष्यामि स्थानेऽत्रैव महाह्रदम् । अगम्यं सर्वमर्त्यानां तत्र त्वं स्थातुमर्हसि

Transliteration

brahmovāca | tavārthe kalpayiṣyāmi sthāne'traiva mahāhradam | agamyaṃ sarvamartyānāṃ tatra tvaṃ sthātumarhasi

Translation

Brahmā sprach: „Um deinetwillen werde ich hier an diesem Ort einen großen See erschaffen, für alle Sterblichen unerreichbar. Dort sollst du wohnen.“

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said/spoke
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अर्थे: for (your) sake/purpose
• अर्थे: Adhikarana (Locus/Purpose/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अर्थे = ‘for the sake/purpose’ (अर्थे-प्रयोग)

• कल्पयिष्यामि: I will create/arrange
• कल्पयिष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कॢप्/कल्प् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• स्थाने: in the place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• महाह्रदम्: a great lake
• महाह्रदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (उपसर्गवत्-विशेषण) + ह्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (महान् ह्रदः)

• अगम्यम्: inaccessible
• अगम्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + अ (नञ्/निषेध) + यत्-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (गम्य), नञ्-पूर्वक; ‘not to be approached’

• सर्वमर्त्यानाम्: of all mortals
• सर्वमर्त्यानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of all mortals’)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्थातुम्: to stay
• स्थातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-भाव (Infinitive); ‘to stand/stay’

• अर्हसि: you are fit/you should
• अर्हसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Citraśilā-madhya Sarasvatī-mahāhrada

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Implied) Sarasvatī / addressed beneficiary in the narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, four-faced and radiant, gestures over a rocky sacred field as a vast lake manifests; the atmosphere is numinous, with lotus buds and a veiled presence of Sarasvatī awaiting her protected abode.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Sarasvatī
• Mahāhrada (great lake)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine compassion establishes sacred geography while also safeguarding sanctity through protected spaces.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mahāhrada (great lake) created as Sarasvatī’s secure dwelling-place at the tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite; it narrates the divine founding (pratiṣṭhā) of a protected sacred water-body.