Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

कम्बलाश्वतरौ नागौ तथा ख्यातौ धरातले । तत्र तप्त्वा तपस्तीव्रं संसिद्धिं परमां गतौ

Transliteration

kambalāśvatarau nāgau tathā khyātau dharātale | tatra taptvā tapastīvraṃ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatau

Translation

Sur la terre, deux Nāgas étaient renommés : Kambala et Aśvatara. Là, après avoir pratiqué une ascèse ardue, ils atteignirent la perfection suprême.

Word by Word

• कम्बलाश्वतरौ: Kambala and Aśvatara
• कम्बलाश्वतरौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कम्बल (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्वतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः द्वन्द्व (कम्बलः च अश्वतरः च); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन (Nominative Dual)

• नागौ: (two) nāgas
• नागौ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन (Nominative Dual)

• तथा: thus, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक/समुच्चयार्थक (thus/also)

• ख्यातौ: were renowned
• ख्यातौ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ख्या (धातु) + त (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन; भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle used adjectivally)

• धरातले: on the surface of the earth
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (धरायाः तलम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (Locative Singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• तप्त्वा: having performed (austerity)
• तप्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (क्त्वान्त/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having performed austerity)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular)

• तीव्रम्: intense
• तीव्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीव्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular); विशेषण

• संसिद्धिम्: attainment, perfection
• संसिद्धिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular)

• परमाम्: supreme
• परमाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Singular); विशेषण

• गतौ: attained, reached
• गतौ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + त (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन; भूतकर्मणि (past participle: ‘having gone/attained’)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa context; exact speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two majestic Nāgas—Kambala and Aśvatara—stand in intense austerity near the sacred spot, bodies still, eyes half-closed; subtle radiance rises from them as the landscape itself seems charged with siddhi.

Characters & Entities

• Kambala
• Aśvatara
• Nāgas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense tapas performed at a sacred place bears fruit as supreme siddhi, regardless of one’s form or birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to a revered tīrtha within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative, though the site-name is not stated in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on performing tīvra-tapas (severe austerity) at the sacred locale.