Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

क्षीरच्छेदेन विहृते शिलातलसुसंवृते । विविक्ते सर्वसुभगे मणिरत्नसमन्विते

Transliteration

kṣīracchedena vihṛte śilātalasusaṃvṛte | vivikte sarvasubhage maṇiratnasamanvite

Translation

Ce lieu était paré de ruisseaux d’éclat semblables au lait, et recouvert d’un sol de pierre lisse; retiré, pleinement auspiceux, et enrichi de gemmes et de joyaux précieux.

Word by Word

• क्षीरच्छेदेन: by the cutting/severing of milk(-like stream)
• क्षीरच्छेदेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक) + छेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/Instrumental), एकवचन; क्षीरस्य छेदः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• विहृते: in/at (a place) cleared/removed
• विहृते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + हृ (धातु) → विहृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण/Locative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), ‘विहृत’ = ‘removed/cleared’

• शिलातलसुसंवृते: in (a place) well-enclosed with a stone floor
• शिलातलसुसंवृते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक) + सु- (उपसर्ग/उपपद) + संवृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘शिलातल’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः, ‘सु-संवृत’ = ‘well-covered/enclosed’ (क्त)

• विविक्ते: in a secluded (place)
• विविक्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + विच्/विच् (धातु) → विविक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), ‘secluded/isolated’

• सर्वसुभगे: in (a place) wholly auspicious/most lovely
• सर्वसुभगे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + सुभग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘सर्वं सुभगं’ = ‘altogether auspicious/very lovely’

• मणिरत्नसमन्विते: in (a place) endowed with gems and jewels
• मणिरत्नसमन्विते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मणि (प्रातिपदिक) + रत्न (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘मणि-रत्न’ इति द्वन्द्वः, ‘समन्वित’ (क्त) = ‘endowed with’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Skanda in Nāgara-khaṇḍa tīrtha discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣīra-srotaḥ-vivikta-sthāna (milky-stream secluded spot)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet jewel-bright plateau of smooth stone on a mountain top; milky luminous streams thread through it; gemstones sparkle in the ground, and the atmosphere feels hushed and auspicious.

Characters & Entities

• kṣīra (milk-like stream/flow)
• maṇi-ratna (gems)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity, seclusion, and auspicious beauty are presented as marks of a true sacred place that supports meditation and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sanctified area around the divine summit-region previously described (Śveta-dvīpa/Ramyaka setting).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse prepares the mind for reverent contemplation of the tīrtha.