Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

तत्किं पानीयदोषो वा किं वा भूमेर्मुनी श्वर । येनेदृक्सहसा यातं विकृतिं मे शरीरकम्

Transliteration

tatkiṃ pānīyadoṣo vā kiṃ vā bhūmermunī śvara | yenedṛksahasā yātaṃ vikṛtiṃ me śarīrakam

Translation

¿Se debe esto a algún defecto en el agua o en la tierra misma, oh señor de los sabios, por lo cual mi cuerpo ha caído tan repentinamente en tal distorsión?

Word by Word

• tat: that (this matter)
• tat: Visheshya (Correlative/अनुवर्त्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kim: what?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• pānīya-doṣaḥ: fault/defect of the water
• pānīya-doṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pānīya (प्रातिपदिक) + doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पानीयस्य दोषः)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• kim: what?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• bhūmeḥ: of the earth/ground
• bhūmeḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• munīśvara: O lord of sages
• munīśvara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुनीनां ईश्वरः)

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• īdṛk: such (like this)
• īdṛk: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (indeclinable-like adjective), अर्थे 'एतादृश'

• sahasā: suddenly
• sahasā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• yātam: gone/come to (has reached)
• yātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; √या (गत्यर्थ)

• vikṛtim: deformity/change
• vikṛtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• me: my
• me: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śarīrakam: body
• śarīrakam: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

Speaker

The king (bhūmipaḥ) addressing sage Viśvāmitra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viśvāmitra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary king at the edge of Puṣkara’s waters notices his body suddenly distorted; he turns in alarm toward the sage Viśvāmitra, questioning whether water or earth is at fault.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A dhārmic person investigates the moral and ritual cause of suffering rather than blaming the sacred place itself.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Puṣkara is the setting; the teaching will clarify that the tīrtha is holy and the fault lies in the manner of approach.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it is a diagnostic question that prompts the sage’s explanation.