Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

अनभिज्ञास्तमिस्रस्य यस्य सानुनिवासिनः । रत्नप्रभाप्रणुन्नस्य कृष्णपक्षनिशास्वपि

Transliteration

anabhijñāstamisrasya yasya sānunivāsinaḥ | ratnaprabhāpraṇunnasya kṛṣṇapakṣaniśāsvapi

Translation

The dwellers upon its slopes are unacquainted with darkness, for it is driven away by the radiance of jewels—even on the nights of the dark fortnight.

Word by Word

• anabhijñāḥ: unaware
• anabhijñāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-abhijña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्गयुक्त विशेषण (not knowing)

• tamisrasya: of darkness
• tamisrasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamisra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sānu-nivāsinaḥ: slope-dwellers
• sānu-nivāsinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sānu (प्रातिपदिक) + nivāsin (निवस् धातु से णिनि/इन् प्रत्ययान्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (sānu-nivāsin = 'dweller on slopes'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ratna-prabhā-praṇunnasya: (darkness) dispelled by gem-light
• ratna-prabhā-praṇunnasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhā (प्रातिपदिक) + pra-ṇud (णुद् धातु) → praṇunna (क्त कृदन्त)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (ratna-prabhā = 'gem-light'; ratna-prabhā-praṇunna = 'driven away by gem-light'); षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेष्य: 'tamisrasya'

• kṛṣṇa-pakṣa-niśāsu: even in the nights of the dark fortnight
• kṛṣṇa-pakṣa-niśāsu: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa = 'dark fortnight'; kṛṣṇa-pakṣa-niśā = 'nights of the dark fortnight'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-प्रयोग (particle: 'even/also')

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vindhya (ratna-prabhā region)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night on Vindhya during the dark fortnight: the slopes glow from embedded jewels or radiant stones, bathing trees and dwellings in light; inhabitants move without lamps, untouched by darkness.

Characters & Entities

• Vindhya (Mountain)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a sanctified realm, ‘darkness’—literal and symbolic—is overcome by inner radiance and divine auspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vindhya’s slopes are depicted as extraordinary, shining even in inauspicious-looking times (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the emphasis is on the miraculous auspiciousness of the sacred terrain.