Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे शक्र आदिदेश त्वरान्वितः । पुष्करावर्तकान्मेघान्वृष्ट्यर्थं धरणीतले

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare śakra ādideśa tvarānvitaḥ | puṣkarāvartakānmeghānvṛṣṭyarthaṃ dharaṇītale

Translation

याच दरम्यान त्वरायुक्त शक्र (इंद्र) यांनी पुष्करावर्तक मेघांना पृथ्वीवर वृष्टी करण्याची आज्ञा केली।

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally)

• antare: in the interval
• antare: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• śakraḥ: Indra
• śakraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• ādideśa: commanded
• ādideśa: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √diś (धातु) + ā- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tvarānvitaḥ: endowed with haste
• tvarānvitaḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tvarā (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (कृदन्त, √i/√vī?; here adjectival past participle sense 'endowed')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (tvarayā anvitaḥ → tvarānvitaḥ)

• puṣkarāvartakān: (those) causing whirlpools like lotuses / 'puṣkara-āvarta' (a type of cloud)
• puṣkarāvartakān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṣkara + āvarta + ka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; विशेषण (meghān qualifies)

• meghān: clouds
• meghān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: megha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• vṛṣṭi-artham: for rain
• vṛṣṭi-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (purpose)

• dharaṇī-tale: on the surface of the earth
• dharaṇī-tale: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

Speaker

Sūta (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vahnitīrtha (contextual; named explicitly in 90.64)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra (Śakra) in Amarāvatī, urgent and commanding the Puṣkarāvartaka clouds to descend and rain upon the earth; clouds gather in dense spirals.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Puṣkarāvartaka clouds
• Dharaṇī (Earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Once dharmic correction is known, swift action to relieve suffering is itself righteousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it narrates the restoration of rain within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes a divine act—ordering clouds for rainfall—rather than a human ritual.