Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

शाखाय तु समाश्रित्य कृतपूर्वनिबंधनम् । वसंतसमये प्राप्ते पुष्पवंतश्च ये द्रुमाः

Transliteration

śākhāya tu samāśritya kṛtapūrvanibaṃdhanam | vasaṃtasamaye prāpte puṣpavaṃtaśca ye drumāḥ

Translation

S’abritant sur une branche—après y avoir fait auparavant une attache—lorsque vint la saison du printemps, les arbres chargés de fleurs se dressaient tout autour.

Word by Word

• śākhāyāḥ: of the branch
• śākhāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śākhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle/concessive-emphatic)

• samāśritya: having taken refuge in / having resorted to
• samāśritya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-śri (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having resorted to’

• kṛta-pūrva-nibandhanam: having a previously-made fastening/binding
• kṛta-pūrva-nibandhanam: Karma/Viśeṣaṇa (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृ धातु, क्त) + pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + nibandhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying an implied object/act)

• vasaṃta-samaye: in the spring season
• vasaṃta-samaye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasaṃta (प्रातिपदिक) + samaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• prāpte: when (it) had arrived
• prāpte: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute/time)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute) with vasaṃtasamaye

• puṣpavantaḥ: flower-bearing
• puṣpavantaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + -vant (तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying drumāḥ)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• ye: which/who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• drumāḥ: trees
• drumāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: druma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrative voice continuing the illustrative story within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A spring grove: flowering trees heavy with blossoms; a small creature (bee) clings to a branch-tip with a prior fastening, poised to begin its work.

Characters & Entities

• Vasanta (spring)
• Druma (trees)
• Puṣpa (flowers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It sets the sacred-natural backdrop for an instructive episode, showing how dharma-teachings unfold within living landscapes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is descriptive and does not name a specific tīrtha in isolation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides narrative setting rather than a ritual command.