Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तृणस्तम्बं यथा धेन्वा तत्रोत्पाट्य प्रशक्तितः । यथा विनिर्गतं तोयं यथा तेनावगाहितम्

Transliteration

tṛṇastambaṃ yathā dhenvā tatrotpāṭya praśaktitaḥ | yathā vinirgataṃ toyaṃ yathā tenāvagāhitam

Translation

Il décrivit comment, telle une vache arrachant de force une touffe d’herbe, l’eau jaillit en abondance : comment elle surgit et comment il s’y plongea pour s’y baigner.

Word by Word

• tṛṇa-stambam: a clump of grass
• tṛṇa-stambam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + stamba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तृणानां स्तम्बः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yathā: as, how
• yathā: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘as/how’ (comparative/correlative)

• dhenvā: by a cow
• dhenvā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृसहायक (instrumental)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘there’

• utpāṭya: having uprooted
• utpāṭya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/पूर्वकर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-pāṭ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive): ‘having uprooted/pulled out’

• praśaktitaḥ: with great force
• praśaktitaḥ: Kriya (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: praśakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (tasil-derivative adverb): -तः = ‘from/according to’; अर्थे ‘with full force/with great effort’

• yathā: how
• yathā: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘how/just as’

• vinirgatam: having come out, emerged
• vinirgatam: Karta (State/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-nis-gam (धातु) + nirgata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying toyam)

• toyam: water
• toyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yathā: how
• yathā: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘how/just as’

• tena: by him/with that
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘by him/with that’

• avagāhitam: entered/bathed in
• avagāhitam: Karma (Object implied/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ava-gāh (धातु) + avagāhita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘entered/bathed in’ (elliptic object: toya)

Speaker

Sūta (contextual narration in Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cow uproots a clump of grass; from the torn earth a clear stream surges out, forming a pool; the cowherd later bathes there as villagers point to the spot.

Characters & Entities

• Dhenu (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity is linked to its wondrous manifestation; nature itself (symbolized by the cow) becomes an instrument revealing holy water.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The spring that becomes renowned as Gomukha-tīrtha in this chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avagāha/snānā (immersion/bathing) in the manifested water.