Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

ततो गाढं करे धृत्वा दीपमानीय तत्क्षणात् । यावत्पश्यति सा माता नन्दिनीति च या स्मृता

Transliteration

tato gāḍhaṃ kare dhṛtvā dīpamānīya tatkṣaṇāt | yāvatpaśyati sā mātā nandinīti ca yā smṛtā

Translation

それから彼女はその手を固く取り、ただちに灯明を運び来て、ナンディニーと記憶されるその母がはっきり見えるまで照らした。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: then/thereupon)

• gāḍham: firmly
• gāḍham: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gāḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (acc. used adverbially: firmly)

• kare: in the hand
• kare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (loc. sg.)

• dhṛtvā: having held
• dhṛtvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund), √धृ (to hold): ‘having held’

• dīpam: a lamp
• dīpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (acc. sg.)

• ānīya: having brought
• ānīya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√nī (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त-समकक्ष (gerundive absolutive), √नी (to bring): ‘having brought’

• tatkṣaṇāt: immediately
• tatkṣaṇāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tat-kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग (abl. used adverbially: immediately)

• yāvat: until
• yāvat: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction: until/as long as)

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √पश् (to see)

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

• mātā: mother
• mātā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (nom. sg.)

• nandinī: Nandinī
• nandinī: Samjna (Apposition/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nandinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (quotative particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• yā: who
• yā: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-या (relative pronoun)

• smṛtā: is called/known as
• smṛtā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘called/remembered’

Speaker

Narrator (within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya frame; specific speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lamp is brought suddenly; the mother Nandinī is seen clearly—moment of recognition and impending fallout; strong chiaroscuro with the lamp as focal point.

Characters & Entities

• Nandinī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Light symbolizes revelation and accountability; hidden wrongdoing is brought into clarity, aligning with the Purāṇic moral arc.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the lamp is part of the story’s disclosure rather than a stated ritual.