Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्गते महीपाले सपुत्रे तत्क्षणाद्धरिः । तद्रंध्रं पूरयामास यथा नो वेत्ति कश्चन

Transliteration

tasmingate mahīpāle saputre tatkṣaṇāddhariḥ | tadraṃdhraṃ pūrayāmāsa yathā no vetti kaścana

Translation

Lorsque le roi, avec son fils, se fut éloigné, Hari (Viṣṇu) combla aussitôt cette ouverture, afin que nul n’en eût connaissance.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: when/in that (time)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (in that/when that)

• गते: having gone
• गते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (कृदन्त, √gam (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—क्त; सप्तमी-सम्बन्धे (locative absolute with तस्मिन्)

• महीपाले: (when) the king
• महीपाले: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahīpāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• सपुत्रे: with (his) son
• सपुत्रे: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/सह) + putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; 'स' = सह (with), उपपद-समासभाव/अव्ययीभावसदृश प्रयोगः (with his son)

• तत्क्षणात्: from that moment; immediately
• तत्क्षणात्: Apadana (Ablative of time/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (तस्मात् क्षणात् = immediately)

• हरिः: Hari (Vishnu)
• हरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (that)

• रन्ध्रम्: hole/opening
• रन्ध्रम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: randhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• पूरयामास: filled up
• पूरयामास: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pṝ/√pūr (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; causative sense (पूरय-) 'filled'

• यथा: so that
• यथा: Sambandha (Clause linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/उपमान/प्रकारवाचक) (so that/as)

• नः: not
• नः: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: naḥ (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: अव्यय-निपात (नकारार्थे), 'न' (not)

• वेत्ति: knows
• वेत्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• कश्चन: anyone
• कश्चन: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ka (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + cana (निपात)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (anyone)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomukha-associated tīrtha source (implicit)

Type: cave

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijās/dvijottamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After the king and son depart, an unseen Hari causes a rocky fissure/opening near the spring to close seamlessly, leaving no trace; the landscape appears ordinary again.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s power is guarded by the Divine; sacred geography is preserved by divine will, beyond ordinary control.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gomukha-tīrtha in Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, described in the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse emphasizes divine action safeguarding the tīrtha’s source.