Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्गते महीपाले सपुत्रे तत्क्षणाद्धरिः । तद्रंध्रं पूरयामास यथा नो वेत्ति कश्चन

Transliteration

tasmingate mahīpāle saputre tatkṣaṇāddhariḥ | tadraṃdhraṃ pūrayāmāsa yathā no vetti kaścana

Translation

ಆ ರಾಜನು ಪುತ್ರನೊಡನೆ ತೆರಳಿದಾಗ, ಹರಿ ತಕ್ಷಣವೇ ಆ ರಂಧ್ರವನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿದನು; ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಅದು ತಿಳಿಯದಂತೆ.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: when/in that (time)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (in that/when that)

• गते: having gone
• गते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (कृदन्त, √gam (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—क्त; सप्तमी-सम्बन्धे (locative absolute with तस्मिन्)

• महीपाले: (when) the king
• महीपाले: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahīpāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• सपुत्रे: with (his) son
• सपुत्रे: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/सह) + putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; 'स' = सह (with), उपपद-समासभाव/अव्ययीभावसदृश प्रयोगः (with his son)

• तत्क्षणात्: from that moment; immediately
• तत्क्षणात्: Apadana (Ablative of time/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (तस्मात् क्षणात् = immediately)

• हरिः: Hari (Vishnu)
• हरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (that)

• रन्ध्रम्: hole/opening
• रन्ध्रम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: randhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• पूरयामास: filled up
• पूरयामास: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pṝ/√pūr (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; causative sense (पूरय-) 'filled'

• यथा: so that
• यथा: Sambandha (Clause linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/उपमान/प्रकारवाचक) (so that/as)

• नः: not
• नः: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: naḥ (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: अव्यय-निपात (नकारार्थे), 'न' (not)

• वेत्ति: knows
• वेत्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• कश्चन: anyone
• कश्चन: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ka (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + cana (निपात)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (anyone)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomukha-associated tīrtha source (implicit)

Type: cave

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijās/dvijottamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After the king and son depart, an unseen Hari causes a rocky fissure/opening near the spring to close seamlessly, leaving no trace; the landscape appears ordinary again.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s power is guarded by the Divine; sacred geography is preserved by divine will, beyond ordinary control.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gomukha-tīrtha in Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, described in the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse emphasizes divine action safeguarding the tīrtha’s source.