Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

ततस्तुष्टो महादेवस्तस्य वर्षशते गते । चतुर्थे वायुभक्षस्य दर्शने समुपस्थितः

Transliteration

tatastuṣṭo mahādevastasya varṣaśate gate | caturthe vāyubhakṣasya darśane samupasthitaḥ

Translation

Alors, lorsqu’un siècle se fut écoulé, Mahādeva, satisfait de lui, apparut en forme visible—au quatrième stade, tandis qu’il subsistait d’air.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘ततः’ = ‘तस्मात्/तदनन्तरम्’ (thereafter)

• tuṣṭaḥ: pleased
• tuṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣ (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण — ‘सन्तुष्टः’ (pleased)

• mahādevaḥ: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः — ‘महान् देवः’

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — ‘तस्य’ (of him)

• varṣaśate: in (the period of) a hundred years
• varṣaśate: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) — ‘वर्षाणां शते’ (in a hundred years)

• gate: having passed / elapsed
• gate: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘गते’ = ‘अतीते’ (when passed)

• caturthe: in the fourth (year/period)
• caturthe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण — ‘चतुर्थे (वर्षे/काले)’ (in the fourth)

• vāyubhakṣasya: of the one who subsists on air
• vāyubhakṣasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘वायुः भक्ष्यः यस्य’/‘वायुभक्षः’ (one who feeds on air); षष्ठी — ‘of the air-eater’

• darśane: at the sight (of him)
• darśane: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — ‘दर्शने’ (at the sight/appearance)

• samupasthitaḥ: appeared / came उपस्थित
• samupasthitaḥ: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-upa-√sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘समुपस्थितः’ = ‘आगतः/उपस्थितः’ (having appeared/present)

Speaker

Sūta (narration continues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience/ṛṣis (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An emaciated ascetic/king in deep tapas, seated in stillness, sustained only by air; after a hundred years, Mahādeva manifests before him in visible form, aura radiant, the kṣetra subtly indicated by sacred trees/riverbank/temple silhouette.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace (anugraha) responds to steadfast tapas; darśana is portrayed as the fruition of unwavering devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The appearance occurs in the Hāṭakeśvara sacred setting within Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The text highlights tapas as a means to obtain darśana—no separate external rite is stated in this verse beyond ascetic discipline.