Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

ततः कालेन संप्राप्य कुरुक्षेत्रं स पार्थिवः । यत्नेनान्वेषयामास विश्वामित्राश्रमं ततः

Transliteration

tataḥ kālena saṃprāpya kurukṣetraṃ sa pārthivaḥ | yatnenānveṣayāmāsa viśvāmitrāśramaṃ tataḥ

Translation

やがて時を経て、その王はクルクシェートラに到った。ついで力を尽くし、ヴィシュヴァーミトラ仙のアーシュラマ（聖なる庵）を探し求め始めた。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) ‘thereafter’

• kālena: with time / after some time
• kālena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• saṃprāpya: having reached
• saṃprāpya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pra-√āp (आप्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• kuru-kṣetram: Kurukṣetra
• kuru-kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuru (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘कुरूणां क्षेत्रम्’)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• pārthivaḥ: the king
• pārthivaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• yatnena: with effort
• yatnena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• anveṣayāmāsa: searched for
• anveṣayāmāsa: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√iṣ (इष्) (धातु; causative stem anveṣaya-)
• Form: लिट् (Periphrastic Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative) ‘to search’

• viśvāmitra-āśramam: Viśvāmitra’s hermitage
• viśvāmitra-āśramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśvāmitra (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘विश्वामित्रस्य आश्रमम्’)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) ‘thereupon/then’

Speaker

Narrator (within Sūta's narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kurukṣetra (with Viśvāmitra-āśrama as a sanctified sub-site)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king arrives at the sacred plain of Kurukṣetra and, with purposeful urgency, searches through forest groves and hermitage clusters for Viśvāmitra’s āśrama—smoke from yajña fires, deer, and ascetics visible.

Characters & Entities

• Kurukṣetra
• Viśvāmitra
• Viśvāmitrāśrama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are not only rivers and shrines; the āśrama of a realized sage is also a living tīrtha that grants guidance and uplift.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kurukṣetra is named; additionally, Viśvāmitra’s āśrama is highlighted as the sought sacred locus.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the act described is seeking the sage’s hermitage.