Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

ततस्तरीतु कामास्ते क्लिश्यमाना इतस्ततः । समिद्भारश्रमोपेता देवराजेन वीक्षिताः

Transliteration

tatastarītu kāmāste kliśyamānā itastataḥ | samidbhāraśramopetā devarājena vīkṣitāḥ

Translation

Désireux de traverser, ils peinaient çà et là ; accablés par le fardeau du bois de feu, ils furent remarqués par le roi des dieux (Indra).

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha/Adhikaraṇa (contextual adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘thereupon/then’

• tarītum: to cross (over)
• tarītum: Kriyā-artha (purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṝ (धातु) + तुमुन् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive): ‘to cross’; क्रियार्थक-अव्ययवत् प्रयोग

• kāmāḥ: desires; (here) those who desired
• kāmāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• te: they, those
• te: Karta (apposition to kāmāḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• kliśyamānāḥ: being distressed/strained
• kliśyamānāḥ: Karta (participial qualifier of te)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kliś (धातु) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/आत्मनेपद-भावे शानच् कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘being afflicted/struggling’

• itastataḥ: here and there
• itastataḥ: Desha/Adverbial (direction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: itas + tatas (अव्यय-द्वन्द्ववत् युग्म)
• Form: अव्यय-युग्म (adverbial pair): ‘from here and there/this way and that’

• samidbhāraśramopetāḥ: wearied from carrying bundles of firewood
• samidbhāraśramopetāḥ: Karta (qualifier of te)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samit (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāra (प्रातिपदिक) + śrama (प्रातिपदिक) + upeta (उप-इ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: समास: समिद्भार-श्रम-उपेत (तत्पुरुष; ‘burden-of-fuel fatigue endowed’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• devarājena: by the king of gods (Indra)
• devarājena: Karana/Agent-in-passive (कर्ता-हेतुः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devarāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• vīkṣitāḥ: were seen/observed
• vīkṣitāḥ: Karma (in passive construction; they were seen)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vīkṣ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘seen/observed’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa style narration within Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of ascetics, bent under bundles of samidh (firewood), searching for a ford and struggling along the bank; above, Indra observes from the sky with a detached gaze.

Characters & Entities

• Vālakhilyas
• Devarāja (Indra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True service to sacred duty may appear small, yet it draws divine attention and becomes the stage for ethical testing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it is a travel episode within the tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, assisting yajña by carrying samidh; no explicit vow or rite is prescribed.