Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ततःप्रभृति संप्राप्तं कथं तोयं प्रकीर्तय । सरस्वत्या महाभाग सर्वं विस्तरतो वद

Transliteration

tataḥprabhṛti saṃprāptaṃ kathaṃ toyaṃ prakīrtaya | sarasvatyā mahābhāga sarvaṃ vistarato vada

Translation

അന്നുമുതൽ ഈ ജലം ഇങ്ങനെ എങ്ങനെ ആയിത്തീർന്നു എന്നു ദയചെയ്ത് പ്രസ്താവിക്കൂ. ഹേ മഹാഭാഗ, സരസ്വതിയെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള എല്ലാം വിശദമായി പറയൂ.

Word by Word

• ततःप्रभृति: from then on
• ततःप्रभृति: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिक, तस्मात्-आद्यर्थे) + प्रभृति (प्रभृति-प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण), अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अर्थः—'ततः आरभ्य/तस्मात् कालात्' (from that time onward)

• संप्राप्तम्: (that which has) occurred/come about
• संप्राप्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्+प्राप् (धातु) → संप्राप्त (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'प्राप्तम्' (having come/occurred)

• कथम्: how?
• कथम्: Prashna (Interrogative modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण)

• तोयम्: water
• तोयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• प्रकीर्तय: tell/proclaim
• प्रकीर्तय: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सरस्वत्या: by/through Sarasvatī
• सरस्वत्या: Karana/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• महाभाग: O greatly fortunate one
• महाभाग: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभाग (प्रातिपदिक: महा + भाग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः—'महान् भागः यस्य' (O greatly fortunate one)

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• विस्तरतः: in detail
• विस्तरतः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विस्तरतः (अव्यय; विस्तार-प्रातिपदिक + तस्)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त क्रियाविशेषण)

• वद: speak/tell
• वद: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वद् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Ṛṣis (sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijas / śaunaka-like assembly (generic ‘best of twice-born’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A respectful assembly of dvijas requests a detailed account of Sarasvatī’s altered waters; the narrator prepares to unfold the river’s hidden history.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas encourage careful listening (śravaṇa) and detailed remembrance of tīrtha-māhātmya, treating sacred geography as a path of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sārasvata/Sarasvatī-associated sacred waters and their māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is a request for narration.