Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

धर्मवृक्षस्य वाताली चित्तपद्मशशिप्रभा । सृष्टा कामार्णवग्राही केन मोक्षदृढार्गला

Transliteration

dharmavṛkṣasya vātālī cittapadmaśaśiprabhā | sṛṣṭā kāmārṇavagrāhī kena mokṣadṛḍhārgalā

Translation

Qui l’a créée—elle qui est tempête pour l’arbre du dharma, clarté lunaire pour le lotus du mental, crocodile dans l’océan du désir, et verrou solide barrant la délivrance ?

Word by Word

• dharma-vṛkṣasya: of the tree of dharma
• dharma-vṛkṣasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dharmasya vṛkṣaḥ)

• vātālī: a storm-wind (destroyer)
• vātālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vātālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• citta-padma-śaśi-prabhā: moonlike radiance for the lotus of the mind
• citta-padma-śaśi-prabhā: Karta (Appositional/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक) + padma (प्रातिपदिक) + śaśin (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (cittapadmasya śaśiprabhā iva prabhā)

• sṛṣṭā: created
• sṛṣṭā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa / Predicate participle
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि (created)

• kāma-arṇava-grāhī: a crocodile/seizer in the ocean of desire
• kāma-arṇava-grāhī: Karta (Appositional/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक) + grāhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (kāmārṇavaṃ gṛhṇāti iti)

• kena: by whom?
• kena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• mokṣa-dṛḍha-argalā: a firm bolt/bar to liberation
• mokṣa-dṛḍha-argalā: Karta (Appositional/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛḍha (प्रातिपदिक) + argalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (mokṣasya dṛḍhā argalā)

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator voice in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Allegorical panorama: a sturdy dharma-tree battered by a fierce wind; a serene moonbeam opening a lotus in a meditating mind; a crocodile lurking in a vast ocean labeled kāma; a heavy iron bolt barring a gate labeled mokṣa.

Characters & Entities

• Vedhā (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sensual fascination can appear attractive to the mind yet becomes destructive to dharma and obstructive to liberation; discernment is essential.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a contemplative teaching embedded in the Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a rhetorical-poetic reflection on obstacles to mokṣa.