Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य भगवान्पाकशासनः । वैदिशे नाकरोद्वृष्टिं सप्त वर्षाणि पंच च

Transliteration

kasyacittvatha kālasya bhagavānpākaśāsanaḥ | vaidiśe nākarodvṛṣṭiṃ sapta varṣāṇi paṃca ca

Translation

ನಂತರ ಒಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಗವಾನ್ ಪಾಕಶಾಸನ (ಇಂದ್ರ) ವಿದಿಶೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಳೆಯನ್ನೇ ಮಾಡಲಿಲ್ಲ—ಏಳು ವರ್ಷಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಇನ್ನೂ ಐದು ವರ್ಷಗಳು.

Word by Word

• kasyacit: of some
• kasyacit: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th) एकवचन; (gen sg) अनिश्चितार्थ (indefinite with -cit)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (adversative/emphatic particle)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (sequence marker: then/now)

• kālasya: of time/period
• kālasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th) एकवचन; (gen sg)

• bhagavān: the Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st) एकवचन; (nom sg)

• pākaśāsanaḥ: Indra (chastiser of Pāka)
• pākaśāsanaḥ: Karta (Apposition to subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāka + śāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘पाकस्य शासकः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st) एकवचन; (nom sg); इन्द्र-पर्याय

• vaidiśe: in Vaidisha
• vaidiśe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidiśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th) एकवचन; (loc sg)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• akarot: made/did
• akarot: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vṛṣṭim: rain
• vṛṣṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; (acc sg)

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-शब्द)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषण (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• varṣāṇi: years
• varṣāṇi: Karma (Extent/duration as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) बहुवचन; (acc pl) कालपरिमाण

• pañca: five
• pañca: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (संख्या-शब्द)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषण (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (a merchant/traveler) within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A parched Vidiśā under a relentless sky; cracked earth, withered fields; Indra’s presence implied in the heavens withholding rain—an ominous stillness before the pilgrimage turn.

Characters & Entities

• Pākaśāsana (Indra)
• Vidiśā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic governance affects human life; drought and prosperity are portrayed as divinely regulated, urging humility and dharmic resilience.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vidiśā is named as the afflicted region; the tīrtha praised in the māhātmya is reached later in the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes a drought attributed to Indra’s withholding of rain.