Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अथ सा भ्रममाणाऽत्र क्षेत्रे प्राप्ता तृषार्दिता । मध्यंदिनगतेसूर्ये ज्येष्ठमासे सुदारुणे

Transliteration

atha sā bhramamāṇā'tra kṣetre prāptā tṛṣārditā | madhyaṃdinagatesūrye jyeṣṭhamāse sudāruṇe

Translation

ನಂತರ ಅವಳು ಅಲೆದಾಡುತ್ತಾ ದಾಹದಿಂದ ಪೀಡಿತಳಾಗಿ ಈ ಪುಣ್ಯಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದಳು—ಭೀಕರ ಜ್ಯೇಷ್ಠಮಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ, ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक/कथान्तरारम्भक)

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

• bhramamāṇā: wandering
• bhramamāṇā: Karta (Participial subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु) + māna (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शानच्/आत्मनेपदी वर्तमान-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘भ्रममाणा’ = ‘wandering’

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• kṣetre: in the field (holy place)
• kṣetre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• prāptā: arrived
• prāptā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु) + pra- + ta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘प्राप्ता’ = ‘having reached/arrived’

• tṛṣā-arditā: afflicted by thirst
• tṛṣā-arditā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + ardita (ard धातु, क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तृषया अर्दिता); कृदन्त-विशेषण (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• madhyaṃdina-gata-sūrye: when the sun had reached midday
• madhyaṃdina-gata-sūrye: Adhikarana (Time/काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhyaṃdina (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (gam धातु, क्त) + sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मध्यंदिने गतः सूर्यः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; कालाधिकरणे

• jyeṣṭha-māse: in the month of Jyeṣṭha
• jyeṣṭha-māse: Adhikarana (Time/काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (ज्येष्ठः मासः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• su-dāruṇe: very harsh (scorching)
• su-dāruṇe: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (मासे/काले)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta, by continuity)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages in the Purāṇic frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A parched landscape under a blazing zenith sun; the woman staggers with thirst at the edge of a sacred boundary—trees sparse, heat haze visible, the kṣetra hinted by a distant shrine or sacred marker.

Characters & Entities

• Jyeṣṭha (month)
• Sūrya (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇas often show that even in extreme hardship, arrival at a kṣetra becomes the turning point where compassion and merit manifest.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse says “this kṣetra” within Adhyāya 62’s Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it sets the scene (time/season) for the forthcoming act of dharma.