Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ततः शक्रो ह्रदं गत्वा पूरयामास पांसुभिः । ह्रदं सारस्वतं तं च तां च चित्रशिलां द्विजाः

Transliteration

tataḥ śakro hradaṃ gatvā pūrayāmāsa pāṃsubhiḥ | hradaṃ sārasvataṃ taṃ ca tāṃ ca citraśilāṃ dvijāḥ

Translation

Then Śakra went to the lake and filled it with dust—both that Sārasvata lake and that wondrous Citraśilā, O brāhmaṇas.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: अनन्तरम् (thereafter)

• शक्रः: Indra (Śakra)
• शक्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ह्रदम्: the lake
• ह्रदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ह्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya (Verbal adjunct/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वक्रिया = having gone

• पूरयामास: filled
• पूरयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूरय् (धातु; पूर्/पॄ + णिच्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पांसुभिः: with dust/sand
• पांसुभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पांसु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• ह्रदम्: the lake
• ह्रदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ह्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (पुनरुक्ति)

• सारस्वतम्: Sarasvat-related
• सारस्वतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सारस्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• तम्: that (it)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक conjunction)

• ताम्: that (her/it)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक conjunction)

• चित्रशिलाम्: the variegated stone/slab
• चित्रशिलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्र + शिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (चित्रा शिला)

• द्विजाः: O twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (vocative-sense)

Speaker

Narrator addressing brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata-hrada; Citraśilā (associated landmark)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra arrives at a sacred lake; with a sweeping, forceful gesture he causes dust/earth to pour in, covering the Sārasvata lake and the wondrous rock Citraśilā, while sages/brāhmaṇas witness in astonishment.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra
• Indra
• Sārasvata-hrada
• Citraśilā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is preserved through narrative memory: even if a tīrtha is physically altered, its spiritual potency remains celebrated.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sārasvata-hrada and the sacred stone Citraśilā within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha circuit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No rite is prescribed; the verse explains the site’s condition through Purāṇic narrative.