Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ततः सा दर्शयामास दाशकन्या जलाशयम् । बहुवीरुधसंछन्नं दुष्प्रवेशं च देहिनाम्

Transliteration

tataḥ sā darśayāmāsa dāśakanyā jalāśayam | bahuvīrudhasaṃchannaṃ duṣpraveśaṃ ca dehinām

Translation

ତାପରେ ସେହି ଦାଶକନ୍ୟା ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ଏକ ଜଳାଶୟ ଦେଖାଇଲା—ଯାହା ବହୁ ଲତା-ବୀରୁଧରେ ଆବୃତ ଓ ଦେହଧାରୀମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ପ୍ରବେଶ ଦୁର୍ଗମ ଥିଲା।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse/time connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘ततः’ (then/from there)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• darśayāmāsa: showed
• darśayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु) (णिच् causative: darśaya-)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्ष), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिजन्त (causative)

• dāśakanyā: the fisherman's daughter
• dāśakanyā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दाशस्य कन्या)

• jalāśayam: a water-reservoir; pond
• jalāśayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (जलस्य आशयः)

• bahuvīrudhasaṃchannam: covered with many creepers/plants
• bahuvīrudhasaṃchannam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of jalāśayam/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrudh (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃchanna (सम्-√छद्/√छद् + क्त, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (बहुभिः वीरुधैः संछन्नम्)

• duṣpraveśam: hard to enter
• duṣpraveśam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dus (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + praveśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (दुष्टः/दुर्लभः प्रवेशः यस्य)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयार्थक/conjunction): ‘च’

• dehinām: of embodied beings; of people
• dehinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (third-person narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The fisher-girl parts thick creepers to reveal a dark, still reservoir; the water glints under moonlight; brāhmaṇas peer in with awe, hesitant at the difficult descent.

Characters & Entities

• dāśakanyā (fisher-girl)
• jalāśaya (sacred pond)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity is not diminished by physical inaccessibility; hidden places can hold great spiritual power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular jalāśaya tīrtha (pond/lake) described as overgrown and difficult to access.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: one must make effort to reach and enter the tīrtha for purification.