Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

ततः कौतूहलाविष्टाः श्रद्धया परया युताः । कोटिसंख्या द्रुतं जग्मुस्तस्य दर्शनवांछया

Transliteration

tataḥ kautūhalāviṣṭāḥ śraddhayā parayā yutāḥ | koṭisaṃkhyā drutaṃ jagmustasya darśanavāṃchayā

Translation

Alors, saisis d’une sainte curiosité et remplis d’une foi suprême, eux—au nombre de crores—se mirent promptement en route, aspirant à son darśana.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे ‘तस्मात्/अनन्तरम्’ (thereafter/from that)

• कौतूहल-आविष्टाः: overcome by curiosity
• कौतूहल-आविष्टाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kautūhala (प्रातिपदिक) + ā-viś (धातु) → āviṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: बहुव्रीह्यर्थे तत्पुरुषसमासः; ‘कौतूहलेन आविष्ट’ = seized by curiosity; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Nom. pl.)

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम् (Feminine, Instr. sg.)

• परया: supreme, intense
• परया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; ‘श्रद्धया’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (Feminine, Instr. sg.)

• युताः: endowed (with)
• युताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuj (धातु) → yuta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; ‘युक्त’ = endowed/associated (Masculine, Nom. pl.)

• कोटि-संख्याः: (people) numbering in crores
• कोटि-संख्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘कोटीनां संख्या’/‘कोटिसंख्या’ = numbering in crores; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Nom. pl.)

• द्रुतम्: quickly
• द्रुतम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: druta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; ‘शीघ्रम्’ (quickly)

• जग्मुः: went
• जग्मुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद) प्रथमा-पुरुषः बहुवचनम्; ‘गम्’ धातोः परिपूर्णभूतार्थे (Perfect, 3rd person plural)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी एकवचनम् (Gen. sg.)

• दर्शन-वाञ्छया: with the desire to see (him)
• दर्शन-वाञ्छया: Hetu (Cause/Motive/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक) + vāñchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘दर्शनस्य वाञ्छा’ = desire for seeing; स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम् (Feminine, Instr. sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudrakoṭi (contextual; explicitly named in 52.19)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattama (best of Brahmins) addressed later in the sequence

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast multitude, stirred by sacred curiosity and unwavering faith, surges forward on a pilgrimage road toward the darśana of Hara.

Characters & Entities

• Umāpati (Śiva) (contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śraddhā transforms curiosity into committed pilgrimage and devotion, culminating in the aspiration for divine darśana.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The pilgrimage is directed toward the Camatkārapura-kṣetra/Rudrakoṭi setting described in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual is specified; the devotional act emphasized is undertaking a rapid journey for darśana.