Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

अथ ते वानरा दृष्ट्वा प्रोद्द्योतं पुष्पकोद्भवम् । विज्ञाय राघवं प्राप्तं सत्वरं सम्मुखा ययुः

Transliteration

atha te vānarā dṛṣṭvā proddyotaṃ puṣpakodbhavam | vijñāya rāghavaṃ prāptaṃ satvaraṃ sammukhā yayuḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ആ വാനരവീരർ ദീപ്തിയായി തെളിഞ്ഞ പുഷ്പകവിമാനം കണ്ടു; രാഘവൻ (രാമൻ) എത്തിയെന്ന് അറിഞ്ഞ് ഉടൻ മുഖാമുഖം വരവേൽക്കാൻ ഓടിച്ചെന്നു।

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक निपात (then/now)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• वानराः: monkeys
• वानराः: Karta (Apposition to ‘te’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vānara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriyā (Pūrvakāla-kriyā)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having seen)

• प्रोद्द्योतम्: the bright radiance/illumination
• प्रोद्द्योतम्: Karma (Object of ‘dṛṣṭvā’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: proddyota (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• पुष्पक-उद्भवम्: arising from the Puṣpaka (car)
• पुष्पक-उद्भवम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘proddyotam’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṣpaka + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (पुष्पकात् उद्भवः/सम्भवः); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• विज्ञाय: having recognized
• विज्ञाय: Kriyā (Pūrvakāla-kriyā)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having recognized/understood)

• राघवम्: Rāghava (Rama)
• राघवम्: Karma (Object of ‘vijñāya’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāghava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• प्राप्तम्: arrived
• प्राप्तम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; ‘राघवम्’ इति कर्मणि विशेषण (Masculine, Accusative, Singular; ‘arrived’)

• सत्वरम्: quickly
• सत्वरम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sa-tvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: hastily)

• सम्मुखाः: facing (him), in front
• सम्मुखाः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural); ‘ते वानराः’ इति विशेषण (facing)

• ययुः: went
• ययुः: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचन (3rd person plural)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta implied by surrounding epic-style narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kiṣkindhā (Puṣpaka-darśana/Pratyudgama-smṛti)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vānara heroes look up and see Puṣpaka blazing in the sky; realization dawns—Rāma has come—so they rush forward in eager formation.

Characters & Entities

• Vānara
• Puṣpaka
• Rāghava (Rāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Swift, devoted reception of the righteous (dhārmika) lord is presented as a mark of loyal dharma and auspicious community conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within a Tīrthamāhātmya framework but here highlights the Kiṣkindhā sacred landscape through the Rāma narrative rather than naming a specific bathing-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is narrative description of arrival and reception.