Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ततश्च तत्पदान्वेषी स जगाम वनाद्वनम् । चमत्कारपुरस्यास्य समंताद्द्विजसत्त माः

Transliteration

tataśca tatpadānveṣī sa jagāma vanādvanam | camatkārapurasyāsya samaṃtāddvijasatta māḥ

Translation

ତାପରେ ସେହି ପଦଚିହ୍ନ ଖୋଜୁଥିବା ସେ ଜଣେ ଜଣେ କରି ବନରୁ ବନକୁ ଗଲା; ଏହି ଚମତ୍କାରପୁରର ଚାରିପାଖ ସମସ୍ତ ଦିଗରେ ଭ୍ରମଣ କଲା, ହେ ଦ୍ୱିଜଶ୍ରେଷ୍ଠମାନେ।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence/अनन्तर)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• tat-pada-anveṣī: seeking its tracks
• tat-pada-anveṣī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tat (तद्) + pada (पद) + anveṣin (अन्वेषिन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध: ‘its footprint-seeker’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (of saḥ)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jagāma: went
• jagāma: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vanāt: from a forest
• vanāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (वन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• vanam: to (another) forest
• vanam: Karma (Goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (वन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• camatkāra-purasya: of Camatkārapura
• camatkāra-purasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: camatkāra (चमत्कार) + pura (पुर)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (camatkārasya puram), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन

• samantāt: all around
• samantāt: Adhikarana (Scope/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantāt (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (from all sides/around)

• dvija-sattamāḥ: O best of Brahmins
• dvija-sattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (द्विज) + sattama (सत्तम)
• Form: कर्मधारय (श्रेष्ठो द्विजः), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced; addressing dvija-sattamāḥ)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cāmatkārapura

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamaḥ (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The cowherd follows the footprints from one forest patch to another, with the distant silhouette of Cāmatkārapura’s settlement/temple spires hinted beyond trees; the narrator addresses a learned brāhmaṇa.

Characters & Entities

• Cāmatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The seeker’s movement through the landscape mirrors inner seeking; the Purāṇa frames geography as a field where dharma and grace unfold.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cāmatkārapura is named as the central locale around which the search unfolds, within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa tīrtha discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it provides the place-name and spatial context.