Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु पुष्करस्थं पितामहम् । यजनार्थे समायातं दरिद्रो वीक्ष्य पार्थिव

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle tu puṣkarasthaṃ pitāmaham | yajanārthe samāyātaṃ daridro vīkṣya pārthiva

Translation

En ce même temps, ô roi, un homme pauvre, voyant Pitāmaha (Brahmā) présent à Puṣkara et venu pour le yajña, s’approcha.

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time base)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• kāle: at the time
• kāle: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tu: but; then
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वय-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• puṣkarastham: situated at Puṣkara
• puṣkarastham: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṣkara + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पुष्करे स्थितः)

• pitāmaham: Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• pitāmaham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yajanārthe: for the purpose of sacrifice
• yajanārthe: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajana + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (यजनस्य अर्थे = for the purpose of sacrifice)

• samāyātam: arrived
• samāyātam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘arrived’

• daridraḥ: a poor man
• daridraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daridra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vīkṣya: having seen
• vīkṣya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• pārthiva: O king
• pārthiva: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārthiva (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the banks of Puṣkara lake, Brahmā arrives for a yajña; a poor man watches from the side, hesitant yet hopeful, with the lake, ghats, and yajña-śālā visible.

Characters & Entities

• Puṣkara
• Pitāmaha
• Brahmā
• yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the distressed and poor can approach the divine at a tīrtha; sacred places become meeting-points for restoring dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Puṣkara is explicitly mentioned as the place where Pitāmaha (Brahmā) is present for yajña.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yajña (sacrifice) is referenced as the purpose of Brahmā’s presence at Puṣkara.