Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सुपर्णेन पुरा देवि पातालादमृतं हृतम् । गृहीत्वा तत्र मुक्तं तु नागानां पश्यतां किल

Transliteration

suparṇena purā devi pātālādamṛtaṃ hṛtam | gṛhītvā tatra muktaṃ tu nāgānāṃ paśyatāṃ kila

Translation

Antaño, oh Diosa, Suparṇa arrebató el amṛta desde Pātāla. Tras apoderarse de él, lo soltó allí mismo, mientras los Nāgas lo contemplaban, según se cuenta.

Word by Word

• suparṇena: by Suparṇa (Garuḍa)
• suparṇena: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suparṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental Singular

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Temporal adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time: formerly)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative Singular

• pātālāt: from the netherworld
• pātālāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — Neuter, Ablative Singular

• amṛtam: nectar, ambrosia
• amṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — Neuter, Nom./Acc. Singular

• hṛtam: was taken away
• hṛtam: Karta (Predicate complement/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hṛta (कृदन्त; √hṛ/हृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) — Neuter, Nominative Singular; ‘taken/removed’

• gṛhītvā: having taken
• gṛhītvā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √grah (ग्रह्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — having seized/taken

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• muktam: was released
• muktam: Karta (Predicate complement/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukta (कृदन्त; √muc/मुच्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) — Neuter, Nominative Singular; ‘released/let go’

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/वाक्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण/विरोध-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• nāgānām: of the Nāgas (serpents)
• nāgānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन — Masculine, Genitive Plural

• paśyatām: while (they) were watching
• paśyatām: Sati-saptamī/Genitive absolute sense (Circumstantial/सापेक्ष)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (पश्)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (वर्तमान कृदन्त/Present active participle) ‘paśyat’ का षष्ठी-बहुवचन (genitive plural) — Genitive Plural of present participle; ‘while (they) were seeing’

• kila: it is said/indeed
• kila: Sambandha (Discourse particle/वाक्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kila (अव्यय)
• Form: श्रुत्यर्थक-अव्यय (hearsay/emphatic particle)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Suparṇelā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Garuḍa (Suparṇa) bursts from the netherworld holding a pot of amṛta; below, astonished Nāgas coil around jeweled rocks; at the Prabhāsa shrine-ground, a drop or release of nectar sanctifies the earth.

Characters & Entities

• Suparṇa (Garuḍa)
• Pātāla
• Amṛta
• Nāgas
• Suparṇelā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s holiness is anchored in divine-historical acts; mythic memory sanctifies geography and worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Suparṇelā, whose sanctity is tied to Suparṇa’s amṛta episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; this verse provides the legendary basis (kathā) for the site’s greatness.