Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

। सूत उवाच । तत्रैवास्य समुद्देशे हरिश्चंद्रस्य भूपतेः । आश्रमो ऽस्ति सुविख्यातो नानाद्रुमसमावृतः

Transliteration

| sūta uvāca | tatraivāsya samuddeśe hariścaṃdrasya bhūpateḥ | āśramo 'sti suvikhyāto nānādrumasamāvṛtaḥ

Translation

സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അവിടത്തെ അതേ പ്രദേശത്തുതന്നെ, രാജാവ് ഹരിശ്ചന്ദ്രന്റെ പ്രസിദ്ധമായ ഒരു ആശ്രമം ഉണ്ട്; അത് നാനാവൃക്ഷങ്ങളാൽ ചുറ്റപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• सूतः: Sūta
• सूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात

• अस्य: of him/this
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• समुद्देशे: in the region/area
• समुद्देशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• हरिश्चन्द्रस्य: of Hariścandra
• हरिश्चन्द्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरिश्चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• भूपतेः: of the king
• भूपतेः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• आश्रमः: hermitage
• आश्रमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• सुविख्यातः: well-known
• सुविख्यातः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग) + विख्यात (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from ख्या + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण

• नानाद्रुमसमावृतः: surrounded by many kinds of trees
• नानाद्रुमसमावृतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाना (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + द्रुम (प्रातिपदिक) + समावृत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from वृत् + क्त, सम्-आ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषभावः (नानाद्रुमैः समावृतः = surrounded by various trees)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hariścandra-āśrama (as a tīrtha-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lush forest hermitage: thatched huts, sacrificial fire area, flowering trees and creepers; a subtle royal emblem hints at Hariścandra’s presence/legacy.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Hariścandra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy geography is preserved through memory of dharmic kings and their āśramas, making the landscape itself a vessel of merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to the ‘Hariścandra-āśrama’ within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya region; the exact tīrtha-name is developed in the following verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated here; it is a locational marker introducing the sanctified āśrama-site.