Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

एवं तु वदतस्तस्य भगवान्वृषभध्वजः । अंगुष्ठं ताडयामास स्वांगुल्यग्रेण तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

evaṃ tu vadatastasya bhagavānvṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | aṃguṣṭhaṃ tāḍayāmāsa svāṃgulyagreṇa tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

അവൻ ഇങ്ങനെ പറയുമ്പോൾ, വൃഷഭധ്വജനായ ഭഗവാൻ ആ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ തന്റെ വിരലിന്റെ അഗ്രംകൊണ്ട് തന്റെ അങ്കുഷ്ഠത്തെ തട്ടുകയോ അടിക്കുകയോ ചെയ്തു।

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis

• vadatas: of (him) speaking
• vadatas: Śeṣa (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन), Masculine/Neuter form; ‘of (him) speaking’

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Śeṣa (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: he whose banner is the bull
• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘vṛṣabhasya dhvajaḥ’), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); epithet of Śiva

• aṅguṣṭham: thumb
• aṅguṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅguṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tāḍayāmāsa: struck/tapped
• tāḍayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tāḍ (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (लिट्, Perfect; narrative past), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person/प्रथम), Singular (एकवचन)

• svāṅgulyagreṇa: with the tip of his own finger
• svāṅgulyagreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅguli (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी sense: ‘svāyā aṅgulyā agreṇa’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tatkṣaṇāt: immediately
• tatkṣaṇāt: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva used adverbially; Ablative-form in sense ‘immediately’

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience of the purāṇic discourse; immediate scene includes a brāhmaṇa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, marked by the bull-banner, interrupts the speech with a swift, deliberate gesture—tapping/striking his thumb with the tip of his finger—foreshadowing a miraculous emission of sacred ash.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord can reveal higher truth through simple gestures, redirecting attention from spectacle to dharmic understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it serves the ongoing tīrtha-māhātmya episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the appearance of bhasma anticipates Śaiva ritual symbolism.