Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

पीतशेषं च पीयूषं स्थापितं नन्दने वने । नागराजस्य यत्रैव स्थितमालानमेव च

Transliteration

pītaśeṣaṃ ca pīyūṣaṃ sthāpitaṃ nandane vane | nāgarājasya yatraiva sthitamālānameva ca

Translation

Le nectar demeuré après qu’on en eut bu fut déposé dans le bosquet de Nandana, là même où se tenait aussi le poteau d’attache (ālāna) du roi des Nāgas.

Word by Word

• pītaśeṣam: the remaining (after being drunk)
• pītaśeṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pīta + śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (pītaḥ śeṣaḥ = the remaining after being drunk) विशेषण (qualifying pīyūṣam)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• pīyūṣam: nectar (amṛta)
• pīyūṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pīyūṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sthāpitam: placed / deposited
• sthāpitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + ṇic (causative) → sthāpaya + kta → sthāpita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle of causative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here agreeing with pīyūṣam (object)

• nandane: in Nandana (garden)
• nandane: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (स्थानवाचक)

• vane: in the forest/grove
• vane: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• nāgarājasya: of the serpent-king
• nāgarājasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga + rāja (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (nāgānāṃ rājā = king of serpents)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• eva: indeed / just
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• sthitam: situated / placed
• sthitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta → sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (elliptically: sthitam ... ca)

• ālānam: tethering-post (elephant-post)
• ālānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ālāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• eva: itself
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Narrator (purāṇic ākhyāna voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ālāna-sthāna associated with Nāgarāja (as described)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene celestial grove with flowering trees; devas carefully placing a vessel containing the remaining nectar near a sturdy tethering-post associated with the Nāga-king.

Characters & Entities

• Pīyūṣa/Amṛta
• Nandana-vana
• Nāgarāja
• Ālāna (tethering post)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred substances sanctify the very landscape; divine remnants become seeds for future holy manifestations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nandana-vana (the celestial grove) is referenced as the sanctified setting where the nectar’s remainder was placed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse explains the sacred placement of amṛta in a holy grove.