Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

चतुष्पादो धर्मरूपो नीलः पंचमुखो हरः । यस्य संदर्शनादेव वाजपेयफलं लभेत्

Transliteration

catuṣpādo dharmarūpo nīlaḥ paṃcamukho haraḥ | yasya saṃdarśanādeva vājapeyaphalaṃ labhet

Translation

നീലൻ ചതുഷ്പാദൻ, ധർമ്മസ്വരൂപൻ, പഞ്ചമുഖ ഹരൻ (ശിവൻ) ആകുന്നു. അവന്റെ ദർശനമാത്രത്താൽ വാജപേയ യാഗഫലം ലഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• catuṣpādaḥ: four-footed
• catuṣpādaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु/तत्पुरुष-समासः

• dharma-rūpaḥ: in the form of Dharma
• dharma-rūpaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• nīlaḥ: blue
• nīlaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• paṃca-mukhaḥ: five-faced
• paṃca-mukhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु/तत्पुरुषः (pañca mukhāni yasya)

• haraḥ: Hara (Śiva)
• haraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शिव-नाम

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• saṃdarśanāt: from (the) sight/seeing
• saṃdarśanāt: Apādāna (Ablative: from/by)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃ-darśana (प्रातिपदिक; √dṛś धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis: just/only)

• vājapeya-phalam: the fruit of the Vājapeya (sacrifice)
• vājapeya-phalam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vājapeya (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vājapeyasya phalam)

• labhet: would obtain
• labhet: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nīla-tīrtha / Nīleśvara (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dark-blue (nīla) five-faced Śiva, serene yet awe-inspiring, stands as Dharma embodied; pilgrims behold him and receive invisible yajña-flame-like merit.

Characters & Entities

• Nīla
• Hara (Śiva)
• Vājapeya (yajña)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In tīrtha-māhātmya, sacred encounter (darśana) can equal great ritual merit—devotion and divine presence surpass mere external performance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter’s tīrtha is glorified through the promise that darśana there grants Vājapeya-level merit; this verse itself emphasizes the darśana-phala rather than naming the location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed; the verse compares the benefit of darśana to the fruit of performing the Vājapeya yajña.