Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

सर्पदष्टस्य यस्यैतत्पुरतः पठ्यते भृशम् । नागतीर्थस्य माहात्म्यं काल दष्टोऽपि जीवति

Transliteration

sarpadaṣṭasya yasyaitatpurataḥ paṭhyate bhṛśam | nāgatīrthasya māhātmyaṃ kāla daṣṭo'pi jīvati

Translation

സർപ്പദഷ്ടനായവന്റെ മുന്നിൽ നാഗതീർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ ഈ മഹാമാഹാത്മ്യം ശക്തമായി പാരായണം ചെയ്താൽ, അവൻ—മരണാഘാതം ഏറ്റിട്ടും—ജീവിച്ചിരിക്കും.

Word by Word

• sarpa-daṣṭasya: of one bitten by a snake
• sarpa-daṣṭasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + √daś (दंश्/दश्, धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्पेण दष्टः)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• etat: this (text)
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• purataḥ: in front (of him); in his presence
• purataḥ: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puratas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषणम् (in front/presence)

• paṭhyate: is recited
• paṭhyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paṭh (पठ्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (is read/recited)

• bhṛśam: intensely; greatly
• bhṛśam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhṛśa (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; तीव्रार्थक क्रियाविशेषणम् (excessively/strongly)

• nāga-tīrthasya: of Nāga-tīrtha
• nāga-tīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (नागानां तीर्थम्)

• māhātmyam: the greatness; the glorification
• māhātmyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject)

• kāla-daṣṭaḥ: one seized by death (lit. bitten by Time)
• kāla-daṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + √daś (दंश्/दश्, धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कालेन दष्टः = bitten by Time/death)

• api: even
• api: Avadhāraṇa (Concessive/अपि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (निपात)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अपि = even/also

• jīvati: lives; survives
• jīvati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jīv (जीव्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from section frame; explicit Sūta at 184.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ / audience of the māhātmya (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A snakebitten person lies weakened; a reciter chants forcefully in front; nāga energy is appeased; Yama’s shadow retreats as life returns.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga-tīrtha
• Kāla (Death)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred speech (pāṭha) of a tīrtha’s māhātmya is portrayed as a life-protecting dharmic power when done with faith.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāga-tīrtha, whose māhātmya is said to counteract even fatal danger.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pāṭha: reading/reciting the Nāga-tīrtha māhātmya aloud before a snake-bitten person.