Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

श्वेतः खुरविषाणेषु स नीलो वृषभः स्मृतः । चतुष्पादो धर्मरूपो नील लोहितचिह्नकः

Transliteration

śvetaḥ khuraviṣāṇeṣu sa nīlo vṛṣabhaḥ smṛtaḥ | catuṣpādo dharmarūpo nīla lohitacihnakaḥ

Translation

“…dan putih pada kuku serta tanduk—dialah lembu jantan yang dikenang bernama Nīla: berkaki empat, jelmaan Dharma, bertanda biru dan merah.”

Word by Word

• śvetaḥ: white
• śvetaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• khura-viṣāṇeṣu: on the hoof-horns
• khura-viṣāṇeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khura (प्रातिपदिक) + viṣāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (khurasya viṣāṇāni)

• saḥ: he/that one
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• nīlaḥ: blue
• nīlaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• vṛṣabhaḥ: bull
• vṛṣabhaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• smṛtaḥ: is said/remembered (as)
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/State)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय (predicate)

• catuṣpādaḥ: four-footed
• catuṣpādaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु/तत्पुरुष-समासः (caturṇāṃ pādāḥ yasya / catuḥ-pādaḥ)

• dharma-rūpaḥ: having the form of Dharma
• dharma-rūpaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dharmasya rūpam)

• nīla-lohita-cihnakaḥ: marked with blue and red signs
• nīla-lohita-cihnakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + lohita (प्रातिपदिक) + cihnaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (nīla-lohitaṃ cihnam asya)

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nīla-vṛṣabha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śūdra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A majestic bull stands firm: white hooves and horns, body marked with blue and red; the narration declares it the very form of Dharma, four-footed and complete.

Characters & Entities

• Nīla
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is not merely an abstract rule—it is envisioned as a living, steady support of the world, symbolized here as the four-footed bull.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse supports the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya by defining the sacred figure encountered there; the site-name is not stated in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse provides identification and theological symbolism (Dharma as vṛṣabha).