Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे दृष्टं मृगयूथं तरोरधः । उपविष्टं सुविश्रब्धं तैस्तदा द्विज सत्तमाः

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare dṛṣṭaṃ mṛgayūthaṃ taroradhaḥ | upaviṣṭaṃ suviśrabdhaṃ taistadā dvija sattamāḥ

Translation

Entre-temps, ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés, ils (les chasseurs) virent un troupeau de cerfs sous un arbre, assis là en paisible sûreté et en pleine confiance.

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• अन्तरे: in the interval
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana (Time/occasion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• दृष्टम्: was seen
• दृष्टम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्यय: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थ (it was seen)

• मृगयूथम्: a herd of deer
• मृगयूथम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + यूथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• तरोः: of a tree
• तरोः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• अधः: below
• अधः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधः (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: below)

• उपविष्टम्: seated
• उपविष्टम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप + विश् (धातु)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्यय: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying मृगयूथम्)

• सुविश्रब्धम्: very relaxed, unafraid
• सुविश्रब्धम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + विश्रब्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• तैः: by them
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Temporal modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते (here: addressing/identifying 'best of the twice-born')

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mṛgatīrtha (tree-locus)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ (addressed as dvija-sattamāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil herd of deer resting beneath a broad-canopied tree, bodies relaxed, ears at ease; in the distance, hunters notice them—calm foreground, impending threat background.

Characters & Entities

• Deer herd (mṛgayūtha)
• Hunters (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic narrative often begins with an apparent ordinary scene—nature at rest—before revealing a hidden sacred turning point.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The unfolding origin account concerns Mṛgatīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is narrative setup for the tīrtha’s emergence and later māhātmya.