Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

क्रीडंते नकुलैः सर्पा यत्र तुष्टिं गता मिथः । मृगाः पंचाननैः सार्धं वृषदंशास्तथाऽखुभिः

Transliteration

krīḍaṃte nakulaiḥ sarpā yatra tuṣṭiṃ gatā mithaḥ | mṛgāḥ paṃcānanaiḥ sārdhaṃ vṛṣadaṃśāstathā'khubhiḥ

Translation

അവിടെ സർപ്പങ്ങൾ നകുലങ്ങളോടൊപ്പം കളിച്ചു, പരസ്പരം തൃപ്തരായി; മൃഗങ്ങൾ സിംഹങ്ങളോടൊപ്പം പാർത്തു, ഭീകരദംഷ്ട്രികളും എലികളോടൊപ്പം തന്നേ।

Word by Word

• krīḍante: play, sport
• krīḍante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (Present, 3rd person plural, ātmanepada)

• nakulaiḥ: with mongooses
• nakulaiḥ: Sahakari (Association/सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nakula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

• sarpāḥ: snakes
• sarpāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (relative adverb: where)

• tuṣṭim: contentment, satisfaction
• tuṣṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tuṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• gatāḥ: having attained
• gatāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्तरि (PPP used adjectivally: 'having gone/attained')

• mithaḥ: mutually, with each other
• mithaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mithaḥ (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परस्परार्थक (indeclinable: mutually)

• mṛgāḥ: deer/animals
• mṛgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• paṃcānanaiḥ: with lions (five-faced)
• paṃcānanaiḥ: Sahakari (Association/सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (five-faced = lions; instrumental plural)

• sārdham: together with
• sārdham: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकारी)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sārdham (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक (indeclinable: together with)

• vṛṣadaṃśāḥ: vṛṣadaṃśas (a kind of creature)
• vṛṣadaṃśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + daṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (determinative; a kind of creature/insect)

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Samuccaya (Conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपमानार्थक (indeclinable: likewise/and also)

• akhubhiḥ: with mice/rats
• akhubhiḥ: Sahakari (Association/सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-khu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dadhīci-āśrama (ahimsā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a tranquil forest hermitage, serpents play with mongooses; deer stand calmly beside lions; fierce creatures and mice share space without fear—an impossible harmony under a sage’s spiritual radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Dadhīci (implied through āśrama)
• Serpents
• Mongooses
• Lions
• Deer

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Where great tapas prevails, hostility dissolves—spiritual power manifests as harmony, reflecting the dharmic ideal of peace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dadhīci’s āśrama in the Puṣkara sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes the sanctity-signs (lakṣaṇas) of a holy hermitage.