Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यस्य वृक्षाग्रशाखायां संलग्नास्तरणेः कराः । पुष्पपूगा इवाधःस्थैर्लक्ष्यंते मुग्धसि द्धकैः

Transliteration

yasya vṛkṣāgraśākhāyāṃ saṃlagnāstaraṇeḥ karāḥ | puṣpapūgā ivādhaḥsthairlakṣyaṃte mugdhasi ddhakaiḥ

Translation

त्या पर्वतावर वृक्षांच्या टोकाच्या फांद्यांवर सूर्यकिरण जणू अडकलेल्या दिसतात; खाली राहणाऱ्या भोळ्या सिद्धांना त्या लोंबत्या पुष्पगुच्छांसारख्या भासतात।

Word by Word

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• vṛkṣāgra-śākhāyām: on the top-branch of a tree
• vṛkṣāgra-śākhāyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + śākhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (vṛkṣāgra = 'tree-top'); तत्पुरुष/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (vṛkṣāgra-śākhā = 'branch at the tree-top'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• saṃlagnāḥ: clinging/attached
• saṃlagnāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-lag (लग् धातु) → saṃlagna (क्त कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; 'karāḥ' इत्यस्य विशेषण

• taraṇeḥ: of the Sun
• taraṇeḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taraṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• karāḥ: rays
• karāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• puṣpa-pūgāḥ: clusters of flowers
• puṣpa-pūgāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pūga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• iva: like
• iva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (simile particle: 'like')

• adhaḥ-sthaiḥ: by those below
• adhaḥ-sthaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhaḥ (अव्यय) + stha (स्था धातु से क्त/स्थ कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (adhaḥ-stha = 'situated below'); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; करणत्वेन (by those below)

• lakṣyante: are seen
• lakṣyante: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: lakṣ (लक्ष् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (passive sense: 'are seen')

• mugdha-siddhakaiḥ: by innocent siddhas
• mugdha-siddhakaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mugdha (प्रातिपदिक) + siddhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (mugdhāḥ siddhakāḥ = 'simple/naive siddhas'); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vindhya (siddha-bhūmi aspect)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: High on Vindhya, sunbeams cling to the topmost branches; below, gentle siddhas look up, seeing the rays as hanging flower-clusters, creating a dreamlike vertical composition.

Characters & Entities

• Vindhya (Mountain)
• Taraṇi/Divākara (Sūrya)
• Siddhas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are portrayed as realms where nature itself reflects the divine, awakening reverence through beauty and symbolism.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vindhya’s sacred slopes and forests are being praised as a wondrous, spiritually charged landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse serves as māhātmya-style glorification through sacred geography and vision.