Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ततोऽन्याः शतशो गावः पपुस्तोयं मुनिर्मलम् । तृषार्त्तास्तद्द्विजश्रेष्ठाः पीयूषरससंनिभम्

Transliteration

tato'nyāḥ śataśo gāvaḥ papustoyaṃ munirmalam | tṛṣārttāstaddvijaśreṣṭhāḥ pīyūṣarasasaṃnibham

Translation

Daraufhin tranken Hunderte anderer Kühe, vom Durst gepeinigt, jenes Wasser—o Bester der Zweimalgeborenen—rein und makellos, gleich dem Wesen des Nektars (Amṛta).

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/अनन्तरार्थक (thereafter/from there)

• अन्याः: other
• अन्याः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; to qualify गावः

• शतशः: by hundreds
• शतशः: Kriya-visheshana (Quantity)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक (distributive: by hundreds)

• गावः: cows
• गावः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative plural

• पपुः: drank
• पपुः: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; Parasmaipada

• तोयम्: water
• तोयम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• मुनिः: pure/serene (like a sage)
• मुनिः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणवत् (pure/quiet-like a sage)

• मलम्: clean/unstained
• मलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; to qualify तोयम्

• तृषार्त्ताः: thirst-stricken
• तृषार्त्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृषा + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; to qualify गावः; समासः—तत्पुरुष (‘तृषया आर्ताः’)

• तत्: those
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (समासपूर्वपदत्वेन)

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: the best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Apposition/Upapada (Addressing/identifying)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘द्विजानां श्रेष्ठाः’)

• पीयूषरससंनिभम्: resembling the essence of nectar
• पीयूषरससंनिभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीयूष + रस + संनिभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; to qualify तोयम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (‘पीयूषरसस्य संनिभम्’ = like nectar-juice)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hundreds of cows gather around the kuṇḍa and drink; the water gleams like nectar, and the scene feels like a pastoral pilgrimage.

Characters & Entities

• Cows (gāvaḥ)
• Dvijaśreṣṭha (addressed listener)
• Amṛta (pīyūṣa, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A true tīrtha is universally beneficent—its purity and nourishment extend beyond humans to all beings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gomukha-tīrtha, whose waters are praised as pure and nectar-like.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse reinforces the tīrtha’s purity, supporting practices like drinking and bathing as meritorious.