Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

मूले विष्णुः स्थितो नित्यं स्कंधे केशव एव च । नारायणस्तु शाखासु पत्रेषु भगवान्हरिः

Transliteration

mūle viṣṇuḥ sthito nityaṃ skaṃdhe keśava eva ca | nārāyaṇastu śākhāsu patreṣu bhagavānhariḥ

Translation

À sa racine demeure à jamais Viṣṇu ; dans son tronc se tient Keśava. Dans ses branches est Nārāyaṇa, et dans ses feuilles, Bhagavān Hari.

Word by Word

• मूले: in the root
• मूले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्थितः: is situated
• स्थितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + क्त (PPP)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृतान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय (predicative)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• स्कंधे: in the trunk
• स्कंधे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• केशवः: Keśava
• केशवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारण (particle of emphasis)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय (conjunction)

• नारायणः: Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/विशेष (contrastive particle)

• शाखासु: in the branches
• शाखासु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पत्रेषु: in the leaves
• पत्रेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective) हरिः

• हरिः: Hari
• हरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced from 'Brahma–Nārada saṃvāda' colophon context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aśvattha (sacred fig) as vṛkṣa-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Aśvattha tree shown as Viṣṇu’s body: luminous root with Viṣṇu, trunk with Keśava, branches with Nārāyaṇa, leaves shimmering with Hari; devotees circumambulate with lamps and water-pots.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Keśava
• Nārāyaṇa
• Hari
• Aśvattha (Pippala)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine is immanent in the natural world; revering the Aśvattha is revering Viṣṇu in manifested form.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Aśvattha is elevated as a living shrine where the Lord is present in every part of the tree.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit worship guideline: honor the whole Aśvattha as Viṣṇu’s embodied presence.