Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अथापश्यत्स नागेन्द्रतनयं भूरिवर्च्चसम् । रुद्रमालमिति ख्यातं जनन्या सह संगतम्

Transliteration

athāpaśyatsa nāgendratanayaṃ bhūrivarccasam | rudramālamiti khyātaṃ jananyā saha saṃgatam

Translation

Alors il vit le fils du roi des serpents, rayonnant d’un grand éclat—connu sous le nom de Rudramāla—en compagnie de sa mère.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (then/now)

• अपश्यत्: saw
• अपश्यत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नागेन्द्रतनयम्: the son of the lord of serpents
• नागेन्द्रतनयम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नागेन्द्रस्य तनयः)

• भूरिवर्चसम्: of great splendor
• भूरिवर्चसम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूरि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + वर्चस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to नागेन्द्रतनयम्)

• रुद्रमालम्: Rudramāla (name)
• रुद्रमालम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + माल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रुद्रस्य मालः/मालः)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/नामनिर्देशसूचक (thus/so-called)

• ख्यातम्: known/called
• ख्यातम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ख्या (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to रुद्रमालम्)

• जनन्या: with (his) mother
• जनन्या: Sahakaraka (सह/साकं)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जननी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakaraka (सह/साकं)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक-उपसर्ग/निपात (with)

• संगतम्: met/come together
• संगतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to रुद्रमालम्/नागेन्द्रतनयम्)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual narrator in Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: tīrtha (jalāśraya-tīra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a luminous riverbank, the radiant nāga-prince ‘Rudramāla’ appears with his mother, both semi-divine, emerging from watery depths; the moment is a sudden darśana of hidden guardians of the tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Nāgendra (serpent-king)
• Rudramāla
• Nāga-mother (jananī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha landscape is inhabited by powerful non-human beings too; dharma requires discernment and reverence, not rash judgment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode unfolds in the Nāgatīrtha setting of the chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces the nāga figure Rudramāla and his mother.