Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

कम्बलाश्वतरौ नागौ तथा ख्यातौ धरातले । तत्र तप्त्वा तपस्तीव्रं संसिद्धिं परमां गतौ

Transliteration

kambalāśvatarau nāgau tathā khyātau dharātale | tatra taptvā tapastīvraṃ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatau

Translation

Upon the earth were famed the two Nāgas, Kambala and Aśvatara. There, having undertaken fierce austerities, they attained the supreme perfection.

Word by Word

• कम्बलाश्वतरौ: Kambala and Aśvatara
• कम्बलाश्वतरौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कम्बल (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्वतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः द्वन्द्व (कम्बलः च अश्वतरः च); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन (Nominative Dual)

• नागौ: (two) nāgas
• नागौ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन (Nominative Dual)

• तथा: thus, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक/समुच्चयार्थक (thus/also)

• ख्यातौ: were renowned
• ख्यातौ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ख्या (धातु) + त (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन; भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle used adjectivally)

• धरातले: on the surface of the earth
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (धरायाः तलम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (Locative Singular)

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

• तप्त्वा: having performed (austerity)
• तप्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (क्त्वान्त/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having performed austerity)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular)

• तीव्रम्: intense
• तीव्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीव्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular); विशेषण

• संसिद्धिम्: attainment, perfection
• संसिद्धिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular)

• परमाम्: supreme
• परमाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular); विशेषण

• गतौ: attained, reached
• गतौ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + त (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन; भूतकर्मणि (past participle: ‘having gone/attained’)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa context; exact speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two majestic Nāgas—Kambala and Aśvatara—stand in intense austerity near the sacred spot, bodies still, eyes half-closed; subtle radiance rises from them as the landscape itself seems charged with siddhi.

Characters & Entities

• Kambala
• Aśvatara
• Nāgas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense tapas performed at a sacred place bears fruit as supreme siddhi, regardless of one’s form or birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to a revered tīrtha within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative, though the site-name is not stated in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on performing tīvra-tapas (severe austerity) at the sacred locale.