Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

यावत्पश्यति सा साध्वी तावन्नागबिलो महान् । पूरितो नागरेणैव मार्गः पातालसंभवः

Transliteration

yāvatpaśyati sā sādhvī tāvannāgabilo mahān | pūrito nāgareṇaiva mārgaḥ pātālasaṃbhavaḥ

Translation

その貞淑なる女が目にしたその瞬間、巨大なナーガの洞穴が現れた。パーターラ（Pātāla）より起こると伝えられる道は、そのナーガ自身によって満ち塞がれていた。

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative: as long as/while)

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (पश्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sādhvī: the virtuous woman
• sādhvī: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tāvat: so long/for that long
• tāvat: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative: so long/that long)

• nāga-bilaḥ: the serpent-cave
• nāga-bilaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक) + bila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (नागस्य बिलः)

• mahān: great
• mahān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (महत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pūritaḥ: was filled
• pūritaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pṝ (पॄ) / √pūr (पूर्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• nāgareṇa: by a nāga/serpent-being
• nāgareṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• mārgaḥ: the path
• mārgaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pātāla-saṃbhavaḥ: arising from the netherworld
• pātāla-saṃbhavaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पातालात् सम्भवः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Nāgarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-bila near Hāṭakeśvara

Type: cave

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the moment the sādhvī gazes, the earth parts to reveal a colossal serpent-cavern; a living Nāga fills the passage like a bridge, scales gleaming, leading downward toward Pātāla’s darkness.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga
• Pātāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are portrayed as threshold-zones where the visible and invisible worlds meet, revealing divine omens to the devoted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse describes the extraordinary approach-landscape associated with reaching Hāṭakeśvara, marked by a Nāga-cavern and a Pātāla-linked path.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the verse provides mythic-geographical description of the pilgrim’s route and its supernatural markers.