Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

समाऽयातो द्विजश्रेष्ठा यत्र सा पितृकूपिका । तृषार्तश्च श्रमार्तश्च निषसाद धरातले

Transliteration

samā'yāto dvijaśreṣṭhā yatra sā pitṛkūpikā | tṛṣārtaśca śramārtaśca niṣasāda dharātale

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജശ്രേഷ്ഠന്മാരേ! ആ പിതൃകൂപിക ഉള്ള സ്ഥലത്ത് അദ്ദേഹം എത്തി; ദാഹവും ക്ഷീണവും കൊണ്ട് പീഡിതനായി നിലത്തിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• समायातः: having arrived
• समायातः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-या (धातु) → समायात (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'आगत'

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: O best of the twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजश्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; द्विज+श्रेष्ठ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रयोगः (vocative sense in address)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb 'where')

• सा: that (she/it)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संकेतवाचक (that)

• पितृकूपिका: the Pitṛ-well (Pitṛkūpikā)
• पितृकूपिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृकूपिका (प्रातिपदिक; पितृ+कूपिका)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; स्थाननाम

• तृषार्तः: afflicted by thirst
• तृषार्तः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृषा+आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'तृषया पीडित'

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• श्रमार्तः: wearied; afflicted by fatigue
• श्रमार्तः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रम+आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'श्रमेन पीडित'

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• निषसाद: sat down
• निषसाद: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-षद् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• धरातले: on the ground
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरातल (प्रातिपदिक; धरा+तल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitṛkūpikā

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (sages; implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāma, weary and thirsty, sits on the ground near a sacred well named Pitṛkūpikā; Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa stand nearby, attentive, with the forest and the well as focal points.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛkūpikā
• Rāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites often arise around human need and divine encounter; even fatigue becomes the doorway to tīrtha-revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pitṛkūpikā—the tīrtha described as an ‘ancestor-well,’ associated with pitṛ-related merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated in this verse; it locates the tīrtha and frames the episode that will ground its ritual significance.