Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

बहुले चंपके दामे वसुधारे घटस्रवे । हंसनादि प्रियानंदे शुभक्षीरे महोदये

Transliteration

bahule caṃpake dāme vasudhāre ghaṭasrave | haṃsanādi priyānaṃde śubhakṣīre mahodaye

Translation

«(Allez paître) à Bahulā, à Campaka, à Dāma, à Vasudhārā, à Ghaṭasrava ; à Haṃsanāda, à Priyānanda, à Śubhakṣīra et à Mahodaya.»

Word by Word

• बहुले: in the abundant (one)
• बहुले: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular): ‘in abundant/thick (place)’

• चम्पके: in the campaka (grove)
• चम्पके: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: campaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular): ‘in/at the campaka (grove)’

• दामे: in the garland/cluster
• दामे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular): ‘in the garland/cluster’

• वसुधारे: in Vasudhārā
• वसुधारे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasudhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular): ‘in Vasudhārā’ (place-name/epithet)

• घटस्रवे: in Ghaṭasrava
• घटस्रवे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭasrava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular): ‘in Ghaṭasrava’ (place-name)

• हंसनादि: in Haṃsanāda
• हंसनादि: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṃsanāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular): ‘in Haṃsanāda’ (place-name)

• प्रियानन्दे: in Priyānanda
• प्रियानन्दे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyānanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (प्रियः आनन्दः): ‘in Priyānanda’ (place-name); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• शुभक्षीरे: in Śubhakṣīra
• शुभक्षीरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubhakṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (शुभं क्षीरम्): ‘in Śubhakṣīra’ (place-name); नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• महोदये: in Mahodaya
• महोदये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + udaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: ‘great rising/prosperity’; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular)

Speaker

Nandinī (addressing the other cows/her companions)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bahulā; Campaka; Dāma; Vasudhārā; Ghaṭasrava; Haṃsanāda; Priyānanda; Śubhakṣīra; Mahodaya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottama (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic ‘map-like’ pastoral montage: multiple small vignettes labeled by place-name—lotus ponds, flowering campaka trees, streams, a spot resonant with swan-calls, and a luminous ‘Mahodaya’ clearing.

Characters & Entities

• Nandinī
• Bahulā
• Campaka
• Dāma
• Vasudhārā
• Ghaṭasrava
• Haṃsanāda
• Priyānanda
• Śubhakṣīra
• Mahodaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa weaves dharma into geography: named locales become memory-maps for sacred travel and moral storytelling.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This line lists multiple locale-names (e.g., Bahulā, Campaka, Mahodaya), but does not explicitly label them as a single tīrtha; they function as sacred/pastoral places within the chapter’s geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is primarily a geographic/toponymic listing within the narrative.