Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

अथ मंकणकोनाम महर्षिः संशितव्रतः । क्षेत्रे तत्र समायातो विषविद्याविचक्षणः

Transliteration

atha maṃkaṇakonāma maharṣiḥ saṃśitavrataḥ | kṣetre tatra samāyāto viṣavidyāvicakṣaṇaḥ

Translation

Dann kam ein großer Weiser namens Maṃkaṇaka, fest in seinen Gelübden und kundig in der Lehre von den Giften, zu jenem heiligen Ort.

Word by Word

• अथ: then/now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (sequence/now-then particle)

• मंकणकः: Maṃkaṇaka (name of a sage)
• मंकणकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मंकणक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Apposition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामार्थक-निपात (particle meaning ‘by name’)

• महर्षिः: great sage
• महर्षिः: Karta (Apposition to subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• संशितव्रतः: of firm/strict vows
• संशितव्रतः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संशित-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्ताधारित विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying maharṣiḥ)

• क्षेत्रे: in the sacred place/field
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन

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

• समायातः: arrived/came
• समायातः: Karta (Predicate of subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-या (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle, क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (used predicatively: ‘having come/arrived’)

• विषविद्याविचक्षणः: skilled in the science of poisons
• विषविद्याविचक्षणः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष-विद्या-विचक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying maharṣiḥ); समासः: विषविद्या (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/‘poison-knowledge’) + विचक्षण (expert)

Speaker

Sūta (narration continues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vow-bound rishi, austere and radiant, arrives at a serpent-guarded sacred precinct—trees and water nearby, nāgas hinted in the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Maṃkaṇaka (Maharṣi)
• Citraśilā Kṣetra (implied)
• Viṣavidyā (poison-lore)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places attract disciplined seekers; spiritual geography becomes a meeting ground for tapas and sacred power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same kṣetra of Citraśilā/Mahāhrada where Sarasvatī was established.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction; it introduces a sage whose expertise (viṣavidyā) becomes relevant to the tīrtha narrative.