Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

साऽपि दिव्यवपुः पूर्वं श्यामा भूत्वा हराद्यतः

Transliteration

sā'pi divyavapuḥ pūrvaṃ śyāmā bhūtvā harādyataḥ

Translation

അവളും ദിവ്യദേഹധാരിണി; ആദ്യം ശ്യാമവർണ്ണയായി മാറി, പിന്നെ ഹരൻ (മഹാദേവൻ)യുടെ പ്രസാദത്താൽ അവളുടെ രൂപം ക്രമേണ പരിവർത്തിതമായി।

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘she’

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — ‘also’

• दिव्य: divine
• दिव्य: Sambandha (Compound member/समाससम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद) — ‘divine’

• वपुः: body, form
• वपुः: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — subject complement/apposition to ‘सा’

• दिव्यवपुः: a divine form
• दिव्यवपुः: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्य + वपुस् (समास)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास ‘दिव्यं वपुः’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Sambandha (Temporal adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्वम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — ‘formerly/before’

• श्यामा: dark, blackish
• श्यामा: Pradhana-predicative (Predicate/विशेष्यविशेषणभाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्यामा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — predicate adjective of ‘सा’

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Sambandha (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त/gerund) — ‘having become’

• हरात्: from Hara (Śiva)
• हरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ablative ‘from Hara’

• यतः: from whom/whence
• यतः: Sambandha (Relational/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/हेतुवाचक) — ‘from which/whence; because’ (here: ‘from whom/whence’)

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Haratīrtha (implied by subsequent verses)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine woman/being undergoes a visible transformation—first dark-hued—then altered by the influence of Hara; Śiva’s aura is the agent of change.

Characters & Entities

• Hara (Śiva)
• a goddess/river-personified feminine (contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are portrayed as living presences; contact with the divine can alter even a ‘divine body,’ indicating intensified tīrtha-power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The transformation motif supports the distinct identity of the site later named Hara-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription appears in this half-verse; it continues the etiological (origin) narrative.