Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

पिप्पलस्य तरोरेष रसं संभक्षयिष्यति । पिप्पलाद इति ख्यातस्ततो लोके भविष्यति

Transliteration

pippalasya taroreṣa rasaṃ saṃbhakṣayiṣyati | pippalāda iti khyātastato loke bhaviṣyati

Translation

Il se nourrira de la sève/essence de l’arbre pippala ; c’est pourquoi, dans le monde, il sera renommé sous le nom de « Pippalāda ».

Word by Word

• pippalasya: of the pippala (aśvattha) tree
• pippalasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pippala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• taroḥ: of the tree
• taroḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• eṣaḥ: this (one)
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• rasam: sap / juice
• rasam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• saṃbhakṣayiṣyati: will eat / consume
• saṃbhakṣayiṣyati: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: भक्ष् (to eat) उपसर्ग: सम्

• pippalādaḥ: Pippalāda (pippala-eater)
• pippalādaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pippala (प्रातिपदिक) + āda (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √ad)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पिप्पलं आदत्ते/अत्ति इति; 'पिप्पल-आद' = pippala-eater), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• iti: thus / called
• iti: Prayoga (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/इति-निपात, quotative)

• khyātaḥ: will be known
• khyātaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √khyā (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अर्थे: 'प्रसिद्धः/ख्यातः'

• tataḥ: thereafter / then
• tataḥ: Hetu/Anantarya (thereafter/therefrom)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/ततः = thereafter/therefore)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• bhaviṣyati: will be
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: भू (to be)

Speaker

Ākāśavāṇī (celestial voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pippala-vṛkṣa (Pippalāda-prasiddha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The child is shown drawing nourishment from the pippala—either tasting milky sap or receiving symbolic essence—while the tree glows as a guardian. The name ‘Pippalāda’ is visually suggested as a banner or inscription near the trunk.

Characters & Entities

• Pippala (Aśvattha)
• Pippalāda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred tree becomes both refuge and sustenance; divine care operates through natural sanctity within tīrtha landscapes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The pippala/aśvattha tree-site is implicitly glorified as a life-sustaining sacred locus.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides an etymological prophecy explaining the child’s future name.