Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । पूर्वं तत्र महारण्ये नानामृगगणावृते । नानाविहंगसंघुष्टे नानावृक्षसमाकुले

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | pūrvaṃ tatra mahāraṇye nānāmṛgagaṇāvṛte | nānāvihaṃgasaṃghuṣṭe nānāvṛkṣasamākule

Translation

Sūta said: “Formerly, there was a great forest there, filled with herds of many kinds of deer, resounding with diverse birds, and crowded with many varieties of trees.”

Word by Word

• सूतः: Sūta
• सूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Temporal modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्वम् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-नपुंसक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: formerly)

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

• महारण्ये: in the great forest
• महारण्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• नाना: various
• नाना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना (अव्यय)
• Form: पर्याय/विविधार्थक-अव्यय (indeclinable: various)

• मृगगणावृते: filled/covered with herds of deer
• मृगगणावृते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक) + आवृत (सम्+वृ धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying महारण्यम्)

• नाना: various
• नाना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना (अव्यय)
• Form: विविधार्थक-अव्यय

• विहंगसंघुष्टे: resounding with birds
• विहंगसंघुष्टे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विहंग (प्रातिपदिक) + संघुष्ट (सम्+घुष् धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying महारण्यम्)

• नाना: various
• नाना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना (अव्यय)
• Form: विविधार्थक-अव्यय

• वृक्षसमाकुले: dense with trees
• वृक्षसमाकुले: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + समाकुल (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying महारण्यम्)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mṛgatīrtha (pre-consecration setting)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic primeval forest: herds of deer moving through clearings, many birds calling from branches, dense variety of trees and creepers; the sense of an untouched sacred wilderness.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Mṛgatīrtha (setting context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are embedded in living landscapes; Purāṇas frame tīrthas within cosmic ecology and sanctified nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets the scene for Mṛgatīrtha’s origin within a great forest in the same region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides environmental context for the forthcoming tīrtha-origin account.