Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त्वा सुविस्तीर्णां शिलां तामा सनोद्भवाम् । प्रचिक्षेप धरापृष्ठं समुद्दिश्य पितामहः

Transliteration

evamuktvā suvistīrṇāṃ śilāṃ tāmā sanodbhavām | pracikṣepa dharāpṛṣṭhaṃ samuddiśya pitāmahaḥ

Translation

So sprechend schleuderte Pitāmaha (Brahmā) jenen breiten, weit ausgebreiteten Stein—aus Sanā hervorgegangen—zur Oberfläche der Erde, auf seinen vorherbestimmten Ort zielend.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक)

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: Kriya-viseshana (पूर्वकालिक)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; पूर्वक्रिया—‘having said’

• सुविस्तीर्णाम्: very broad/well-spread
• सुविस्तीर्णाम्: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + विस्तीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; √स्तॄ/स्तृ ‘to spread’ past participle)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) विशेषणम् (शिलाम्)

• शिलाम्: stone
• शिलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ताम्: that
• ताम्: Karma (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (referring to शिला)

• आ: towards/unto (prefix)
• आ: Upasarga (prefix)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ (उपसर्ग)
• Form: उपसर्ग (preverb) — here separated in पाठ; verb-prefix sense

• सनोद्भवाम्: arisen from San(a) (name/source)
• सनोद्भवाम्: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सन + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सनात्/सनस्य उद्भवा) विशेषणम् (शिलाम्)

• प्रचिक्षेप: threw/cast forth
• प्रचिक्षेप: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्/लुङ्-रूपसदृश (narrative past); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• धरापृष्ठम्: onto the earth’s surface
• धरापृष्ठम्: Karma (Goal/Place as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (धरायाः पृष्ठम्)

• समुद्दिश्य: having aimed at / directing towards
• समुद्दिश्य: Kriya-viseshana (पूर्वकालिक)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उद् + दिश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; ‘having aimed/indicated (towards)’

• पितामहः: the Grandfather (Brahmā)
• पितामहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator, likely Sūta) describing Brahmā’s action (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, four-faced, poised in a cosmic gesture, hurling a vast, flat stone through the sky toward earth; below, the landscape awaits consecration—rivers, plains, and a nascent shrine-site.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Sanā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are portrayed as intentionally established through divine will, making pilgrimage participation a response to a sacred foundation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The foundation act that leads to the sanctification of the Camatkārapura-kṣetra described immediately afterward in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it narrates the founding act (the casting of the śilā) that creates the locus for later observances.