Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

अथ तौ पक्षिविप्रेन्द्रौ स च ब्रह्मसुतो मुनिः । प्राप्ताः सर्वे स्थितो यत्र जलशायी जनार्दनः

Transliteration

atha tau pakṣiviprendrau sa ca brahmasuto muniḥ | prāptāḥ sarve sthito yatra jalaśāyī janārdanaḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ആ രണ്ടുപേർ—പക്ഷികളിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനും ബ്രാഹ്മണങ്ങളിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനും—കൂടാതെ ബ്രഹ്മപുത്രനായ മുനിയും, എല്ലാവരും ജലശായീ ജനാർദനൻ വിരാജിച്ചിരുന്ന സ്ഥലത്തെത്തി.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (then/now)

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• पक्षि-विप्र-इन्द्रौ: the foremost (one) among the bird and the brahmin (i.e., Garuḍa and the best brahmin)
• पक्षि-विप्र-इन्द्रौ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + विप्र (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पक्षिणां/विप्राणां इन्द्रौ = best among bird and brahmin)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• ब्रह्म-सुतः: Brahmā's son
• ब्रह्म-सुतः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणः सुतः)

• मुनिः: sage
• मुनिः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्ताः: arrived
• प्राप्ताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विधेय (having arrived)

• सर्वे: all (of them)
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• स्थितः: was present/situated
• स्थितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय (was situated)

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

• जल-शायी: the one who lies in water
• जल-शायी: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + शय् (धातु) → शायी (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (जले शयते इति)

• जनार्दनः: Janārdana (Vishnu)
• जनार्दनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनार्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya account

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jalaśāyī Janārdana-sannidhi at Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience within the Purāṇic dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Garuḍa and a venerable brāhmaṇa, along with Nārada (Brahmā’s son), arrive at a water-side shrine where Janārdana reclines upon the waters; a sense of awe at the threshold.

Characters & Entities

• Garuḍa
• Nārada
• Brahmā
• Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• Jalaśāyī (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are revealed through the company of the great; approaching the Lord at a tīrtha is itself a sanctifying arrival (prāpti).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A water-associated tīrtha where Janārdana is revered as jalaśāyī; the precise identification is given by the broader Adhyāya 80 context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the act highlighted is reaching the sacred locale for darśana.