Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

अगस्त्य उवाच । इत्युक्त्वा देवदेवेशश्चक्रेणोत्खाय तत्स्थलम् । जलं प्रकटयामास गांगं पातालमंडलात्

Transliteration

agastya uvāca | ityuktvā devadeveśaścakreṇotkhāya tatsthalam | jalaṃ prakaṭayāmāsa gāṃgaṃ pātālamaṃḍalāt

Translation

അഗസ്ത്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞ് ദേവദേവേശൻ ചക്രംകൊണ്ട് ആ സ്ഥലം ഉത്ഖനനം ചെയ്തു; പാതാളമണ്ഡലത്തിൽ നിന്നു ഗംഗാജലം പ്രസ്ഫుటമാക്കി.

Word by Word

• अगस्त्यः: Agastya
• अगस्त्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्तिसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकाले क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाले क्रिया

• देवदेवेशः: Lord of the gods
• देवदेवेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva-deva-īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां देवः; तेषां ईशः)

• चक्रेण: with the discus
• चक्रेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• उत्खाय: having dug up
• उत्खाय: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकाले क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut-khā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• तत्-स्थलम्: that spot/place
• तत्-स्थलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + sthala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (तत् स्थलम् = तद् एव स्थलम्)

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• प्रकटयामास: made manifest, revealed
• प्रकटयामास: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kaṭ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परिपूर्णभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

• गाङ्गम्: of the Ganges
• गाङ्गम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gāṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (जलस्य)

• पाताल-मण्डलात्: from the netherworld region
• पाताल-मण्डलात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla-maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पातालस्य मण्डलम्)

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī-prādurbhāva tīrtha (Gaṅgā emergence spot)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya narrates: the Lord of gods uses his discus to dig/excavate the ground, causing Gaṅgā-water to burst forth from Pātāla, forming a sacred pool/stream.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Devadeveśa (Viṣṇu)
• Cakra (discus)
• Gaṅgā
• Pātāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace can sanctify a landscape by revealing sacred waters, turning geography into a path of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The spot in Ayodhyā excavated by the Lord’s discus, where Gaṅgā-water is revealed—contextually the beginning of Cakratīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not yet; the verse narrates the manifestation of sacred water that later supports snāna and dāna merits.