Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

नैषा वसुमती विप्र समुद्रेण विनाकृता । राजते वस्तुसंत्यक्ता यथा नारी विभूषिता

Transliteration

naiṣā vasumatī vipra samudreṇa vinākṛtā | rājate vastusaṃtyaktā yathā nārī vibhūṣitā

Translation

“હે વિપ્ર! સમુદ્ર વિના આ વસુમતી શોભતી નથી; પોતાના મૂળ ધનથી વંચિત થઈ તે એવી છે જેમ અલંકૃત નારી—પણ પૂર્ણતા આપનાર તત્ત્વ વિના.”

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation particle/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• एषा: this (she/this one)
• एषा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वसुमती: the earth
• वसुमती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasumatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• विप्र: O brāhmaṇa
• विप्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th case), एकवचन

• समुद्रेण: by/with the ocean
• समुद्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Prepositional relation/उपपद-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वियोगार्थक उपपद (without)

• कृता: made; rendered
• कृता: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे (made/constituted)

• राजते: shines; appears splendid
• राजते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rāj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• वस्तुसंत्यक्ता: deprived of possessions
• वस्तुसंत्यक्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vastu (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃ-tyakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (वस्तुभिः संत्यक्ता = deprived of things/possessions)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (just as)

• नारी: a woman
• नारी: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• विभूषिता: adorned
• विभूषिता: Upamana-dharma (Attribute in simile/उपमानधर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-bhūṣ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Devas (continuing appeal to the sage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A poetic tableau: Earth as a regal woman adorned yet incomplete without the ocean; the empty coastline looks pale and diminished, awaiting the return of waves to restore her radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Earth (Vasumatī)
• Ocean (Samudra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma values wholeness and harmony: the world’s beauty depends on the proper place of each cosmic element.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The oceanic realm is emphasized as a sacred and necessary component of the world’s tīrtha-landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse uses metaphor to argue for restoring the ocean.