Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

शक्र उवाच । कस्मिन्क्षेत्रे जगन्नाथ करोमि सुमहत्तपः । तस्य दैत्यस्य नाशार्थं तद स्माकं प्रकीर्तय

Transliteration

śakra uvāca | kasminkṣetre jagannātha karomi sumahattapaḥ | tasya daityasya nāśārthaṃ tada smākaṃ prakīrtaya

Translation

ശക്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു—‘ഹേ ജഗന്നാഥാ! ആ ദൈത്യന്റെ നാശത്തിനായി ഞാൻ ഏത് പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ അതിമഹത്തായ തപസ്സ് ചെയ്യണം? ദയവായി അത് ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് പ്രസ്താവിക്കണമേ.’

Word by Word

• śakraḥ: Śakra (Indra)
• śakraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ-lakāra, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• kasmin: in which
• kasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka, Saptamī vibhakti, Ekavacana; interrogative pronoun

• kṣetre: in the sacred field/place
• kṣetre: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti, Ekavacana

• jagannātha: O Lord of the world
• jagannātha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana vibhakti, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: ‘jagataḥ nāthaḥ’

• karomi: shall I do / do I perform
• karomi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Uttama-puruṣa (1st person), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• su-mahat: very great
• su-mahat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā vibhakti, Ekavacana; su- upasarga intensifier ‘very’

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• tasya: of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti, Ekavacana

• daityasya: of the demon
• daityasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti, Ekavacana

• nāśa-artham: for the destruction
• nāśa-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā vibhakti, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘nāśasya arthaḥ’ (purpose of destruction) used adverbially as purpose-accusative

• tat: that (matter)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā vibhakti, Ekavacana; deictic pronoun

• smākam: of us/for us
• smākam: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Genitive/6th), Bahuvacana; Vedic/epic variant of asmākam

• prakīrtaya: tell/proclaim
• prakīrtaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kīrt (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative), Madhyama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

Speaker

Śakra (Indra/Vāsava)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Jagannātha (Viṣṇu)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, humbled yet purposeful, asks Jagannātha (Viṣṇu) to name the sacred kṣetra where he should perform great tapas to destroy Bāṣkali.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Jagannātha (Viṣṇu)
• Kṣetra
• Tapas
• Daitya (Bāṣkali implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right practice is joined to right place: sacred geography (kṣetra) supports spiritual effort (tapas).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A kṣetra is requested but not yet named in this verse; the narrative is moving toward a place-specific instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of su-mahat tapas (very great austerity) aimed at the destruction of adharma.