Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य भगवान्पाकशासनः । वैदिशे नाकरोद्वृष्टिं सप्त वर्षाणि पंच च

Transliteration

kasyacittvatha kālasya bhagavānpākaśāsanaḥ | vaidiśe nākarodvṛṣṭiṃ sapta varṣāṇi paṃca ca

Translation

Puis, durant un certain temps, le Bienheureux Pākaśāsana (Indra) ne fit pas tomber la pluie sur Vidiśā, pendant sept ans, et cinq de plus.

Word by Word

• kasyacit: of some
• kasyacit: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th) एकवचन; (gen sg) अनिश्चितार्थ (indefinite with -cit)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (adversative/emphatic particle)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (sequence marker: then/now)

• kālasya: of time/period
• kālasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th) एकवचन; (gen sg)

• bhagavān: the Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st) एकवचन; (nom sg)

• pākaśāsanaḥ: Indra (chastiser of Pāka)
• pākaśāsanaḥ: Karta (Apposition to subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāka + śāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘पाकस्य शासकः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st) एकवचन; (nom sg); इन्द्र-पर्याय

• vaidiśe: in Vaidisha
• vaidiśe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidiśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th) एकवचन; (loc sg)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• akarot: made/did
• akarot: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vṛṣṭim: rain
• vṛṣṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; (acc sg)

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-शब्द)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषण (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• varṣāṇi: years
• varṣāṇi: Karma (Extent/duration as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) बहुवचन; (acc pl) कालपरिमाण

• pañca: five
• pañca: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (संख्या-शब्द)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषण (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (a merchant/traveler) within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A parched Vidiśā under a relentless sky; cracked earth, withered fields; Indra’s presence implied in the heavens withholding rain—an ominous stillness before the pilgrimage turn.

Characters & Entities

• Pākaśāsana (Indra)
• Vidiśā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic governance affects human life; drought and prosperity are portrayed as divinely regulated, urging humility and dharmic resilience.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vidiśā is named as the afflicted region; the tīrtha praised in the māhātmya is reached later in the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes a drought attributed to Indra’s withholding of rain.