Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

प्रसन्नवदना हृष्टा विष्णुध्यानपरायणा । जगाम तत्र यत्रास्ते सुमहान्दारुपर्वतः

Transliteration

prasannavadanā hṛṣṭā viṣṇudhyānaparāyaṇā | jagāma tatra yatrāste sumahāndāruparvataḥ

Translation

Le visage apaisé et le cœur joyeux, toute vouée à la méditation sur Viṣṇu, elle se rendit là où se dressait un immense amas de bois, tel une montagne.

Word by Word

• प्रसन्नवदना: with a cheerful face
• प्रसन्नवदना: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रसन्न + वदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: प्रसन्नं वदनं यस्याः ‘with a cheerful face’

• हृष्टा: delighted
• हृष्टा: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; धातु: हृष् ‘to rejoice’; ‘delighted’

• विष्णुध्यानपरायणा: devoted to meditation on Viṣṇu
• विष्णुध्यानपरायणा: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु + ध्यान + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: विष्णोः ध्यानं परायणं यस्याः ‘devoted to meditation on Viṣṇu’

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place ‘there’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (relative adverb ‘where’)

• आस्ते: stands, is situated
• आस्ते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; ‘is/stands’

• सुमहान्: very great
• सुमहान्: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन; उपसर्गसदृश ‘सु-’ (intensifier)

• दारुपर्वतः: a mountain/heap of wood
• दारुपर्वतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारु + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: दारुणां पर्वतः ‘mountain/heap of wood’

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhaṭṭikā, serene and joyful, walks toward a massive pile of firewood towering like a small hill; her gaze is inward in Viṣṇu meditation.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True śuddhi is supported by devotion—inner meditation (dhyāna) accompanies outward ritual preparation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is within a tīrtha-mahātmya chapter, but this verse does not specify the tīrtha by name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

While not a direct injunction, it depicts dhyāna on Viṣṇu as a purifying inner discipline alongside the impending fire-rite.