Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

अथापश्यन्मनोहारि सौम्यसत्त्वनिषेवितम् । आश्रमं नदितीरस्थं मनःशोकविनाशनम्

Transliteration

athāpaśyanmanohāri saumyasattvaniṣevitam | āśramaṃ naditīrasthaṃ manaḥśokavināśanam

Translation

Alors il aperçut un āśrama ravissant, fréquenté par des êtres doux, établi sur la rive du fleuve — un ermitage qui dissipe le chagrin du cœur.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भबोधक (discourse particle: then/now)

• अपश्यत्: he saw
• अपश्यत्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मनोहारि: charming, captivating
• मनोहारि: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक) + हारि (प्रातिपदिक) → मनोहारि (समास/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (मनः हरति इति = mind-stealing); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (आश्रमम् विशेषयति)

• सौम्यसत्त्वनिषेवितम्: frequented by gentle creatures
• सौम्यसत्त्वनिषेवितम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सौम्य (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक) + नि-सेव् (धातु) + क्त → निषेवित (कृदन्त)
• Form: समास (सौम्यैः सत्त्वैः निषेवितम् = frequented by gentle beings); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आश्रमम्: hermitage
• आश्रमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• नदितीरस्थम्: situated on the riverbank
• नदितीरस्थम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (नद्याः तीरे स्थितम् = situated on the riverbank); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मनःशोकविनाशनम्: destroying sorrow of the mind
• मनःशोकविनाशनम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक) + शोक (प्रातिपदिक) + वि-नश् (धातु) + ल्युट्/अन (प्रातिपदिक) → विनाशन
• Form: तत्पुरुष (मनःशोकस्य विनाशनम् = destroyer of mental sorrow); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in a māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil hermitage on the riverbank: thatched huts, smoke from a small sacred fire, calm-faced ascetics, deer nearby; the king arrives and is visibly soothed by the atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• āśrama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are defined by sattva—peaceful presence and tapas—capable of dissolving inner grief.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A riverbank āśrama within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha narrative; the verse itself does not provide the proper name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the emphasis is on darśana (beholding) the sacred āśrama and its purifying influence.