Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

भेक उवाच । अस्मिञ्जलाशये वह्निः सांप्रतं पर्यवस्थितः । तस्यैते जलमध्यस्था मृता भूरिजलोद्भवाः

Transliteration

bheka uvāca | asmiñjalāśaye vahniḥ sāṃprataṃ paryavasthitaḥ | tasyaite jalamadhyasthā mṛtā bhūrijalodbhavāḥ

Translation

ಭೇಕನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಈ ಜಲಾಶಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗ ಅಗ್ನಿ ನೆಲೆಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಅವನ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ನೀರಿನ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಿಸುವ ಅನೇಕ ಜಲಜ ಜೀವಿಗಳು ಮೃತರಾದರು.

Word by Word

• भेकः: the frog (Bheka)
• भेकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भेक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• जलाशये: in the water-reservoir/pond
• जलाशये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलाशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः जल+आशय (जलस्य आशयः)

• वह्निः: fire
• वह्निः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सांप्रतम्: now, at present
• सांप्रतम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सांप्रतम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• पर्यवस्थितः: is stationed/has settled
• पर्यवस्थितः: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि+अव+स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; स्था-धातोः; अर्थे ‘स्थितः’

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• जलमध्यस्थाः: standing in the middle of the water
• जलमध्यस्थाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल+मध्य+स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः जलस्य मध्ये स्थाः (locative-tatpuruṣa)

• मृताः: dead
• मृताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √मृ)
• Form: क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• भूरिजलोद्भवाः: those born from abundant water (water-creatures)
• भूरिजलोद्भवाः: Karta (Subject-apposition/कर्ता-सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूरि+जल+उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः भूरि-जलात् उद्भवाः (बहुजलसम्भूताः)

Speaker

Bheka (the frog)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Suras (the gods)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moonlit or dusky pond with still water; within the water a subtle, contained blaze (Agni) glows; dead fish and aquatic beings float; a distressed frog surfaces, eyes wide, addressing unseen devas.

Characters & Entities

• Bheka (frog)
• Agni (Vahni)
• Jalāśaya
• Aquatic creatures

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred power must be harmonized with dharma; when a force becomes disruptive, truthful testimony helps restore balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The jalāśaya (pond/reservoir) within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, as narrated in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 90).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse identifies the locus of Agni in the water-reservoir, a typical precursor to tīrtha actions like snāna and worship in the broader māhātmya.