Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

उपरिष्टाद्बकैर्हंसैर्भ्रममाणैः समंततः । आटिभिर्मद्गुभिश्चैव समन्ताज्जलपक्षिभिः

Transliteration

upariṣṭādbakairhaṃsairbhramamāṇaiḥ samaṃtataḥ | āṭibhirmadgubhiścaiva samantājjalapakṣibhiḥ

Translation

ଉପରେ ଓ ସମସ୍ତ ଦିଗରେ ଘୂରୁଥିବା ବକ ଓ ହଂସ, ଏବଂ ଆଟି, ମଦ୍ଗୁ ଆଦି ଜଳପକ୍ଷୀମାନେ ସେ ଅଞ୍ଚଳକୁ ସର୍ବତ୍ର ପୂରିଦେଇଥିଲେ।

Word by Word

• उपरिष्टात्: from above, overhead
• उपरिष्टात्: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Place adjunct/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरिष्टात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative/ablatival adverb)

• बकैः: by herons/cranes
• बकैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• हंसैः: by swans/geese
• हंसैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• भ्रममाणैः: wandering, circling
• भ्रममाणैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु) + शानच् → भ्रममाण (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle); तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• समंततः: on all sides
• समंततः: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Place adjunct/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सर्वतोभावे देशवाचक (adverb: on all sides)

• आटिभिः: by āṭi birds
• आटिभिः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; पक्षिविशेष (a kind of water-bird)

• मद्गुभिः: by madgu birds
• मद्गुभिः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्गु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; पक्षिविशेष (a kind of water-bird/diver)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed, also
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• समन्तात्: from all around
• समन्तात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्तात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पञ्चमी-भावे देशवाचक (adverb: from all around)

• जलपक्षिभिः: by water-birds
• जलपक्षिभिः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्षि (प्रातिपदिक) → जलपक्षि (समास/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जलस्य पक्षिणः = water-birds); पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in a māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wide sacred waterscape: cranes and swans wheel overhead; smaller aquatic birds skim and dive; the surface glitters, suggesting a tīrtha alive with movement and sound.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is recognized not only by doctrine but by auspicious atmosphere—nature itself appears harmonious and sanctified.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets the scene for a riverine tīrtha/āśrama landscape in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, without naming the site in this line alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a descriptive marker of a sacred place.