Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

प्राचीसरस्वतीतीरे पुष्करारण्यमाश्रितः । दधीचिर्नाम विप्रर्षिः शतयोजनमुच्छ्रितः

Transliteration

prācīsarasvatītīre puṣkarāraṇyamāśritaḥ | dadhīcirnāma viprarṣiḥ śatayojanamucchritaḥ

Translation

Sur la rive orientale de la Sarasvatī, retiré dans la forêt de Puṣkara, demeure un brahmane‑sage nommé Dadhīci, sublime comme s’il avait cent yojanas de hauteur.

Word by Word

• प्राची-सरस्वती-तीरे: on the bank of the eastern Sarasvatī
• प्राची-सरस्वती-तीरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prācī (प्रातिपदिक) + sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक) + tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (समाहार/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘प्राच्याः सरस्वत्याः तीरम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (locative/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• पुष्कर-अरण्यम्: the Puṣkara forest
• पुष्कर-अरण्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक) + araṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘पुष्करस्य अरण्यम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन

• आश्रितः: having taken refuge in / residing in
• आश्रितः: Kartā (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√śri (श्रि धातु) → āśrita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/क्तवतु-प्रत्यय; past participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘having resorted to’

• दधीचिः: Dadhīci
• दधीचिः: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhīci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Viśeṣaṇa-nipāta (Naming particle/नामनिर्देशक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देशक निपात (indeclinable particle indicating name: ‘named/called’)

• विप्र-ऋषिः: a brāhmaṇa-sage
• विप्र-ऋषिः: Kartā (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘विप्रः चासौ ऋषिः’); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन

• शत-योजनम्: a hundred yojanas
• शत-योजनम्: Karma (Measure/extent as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वक); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (प्रमाण/extent)

• उच्छ्रितः: lofty, towering
• उच्छ्रितः: Kartā (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ud-√śri (श्रि धातु) → ucchrita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘raised/lofty’

Speaker

Bṛhaspati (continuing instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkara (Puṣkarāraṇya) on Prācī Sarasvatī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śakra (Indra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous ṛṣi-figure, Dadhīci, resides in Puṣkara forest on the eastern Sarasvatī bank—portrayed as towering, symbolically ‘hundred-yojana lofty,’ radiating tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī (Prācī Sarasvatī)
• Puṣkarāraṇya
• Dadhīci

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas root divine solutions in sacred geography—holy places and great ṛṣis become channels of protection for the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prācī Sarasvatī’s bank and Puṣkarāraṇya (Puṣkara forest region) are explicitly mentioned.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse identifies the sacred locale and the sage central to the forthcoming remedy.