Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तथादक्षिणदिग्भागे कूपिका तेन निर्मिता । आनर्त्तीयतडागस्य समीपे पापनाशनी

Transliteration

tathādakṣiṇadigbhāge kūpikā tena nirmitā | ānarttīyataḍāgasya samīpe pāpanāśanī

Translation

Do mesmo modo, no quadrante meridional, ele construiu um pequeno poço (kūpikā) perto do lago Ānarttīya, lugar que dissipa os pecados.

Word by Word

• तथा: thus/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थे (indeclinable; adverb/conjunctive particle: 'thus/also')

• दक्षिण-दिक्-भागे: in the southern direction-part
• दक्षिण-दिक्-भागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक) + दिक् (प्रातिपदिक) + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (दक्षिणायाः दिशः भागः)

• कूपिका: a small well
• कूपिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूपिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• निर्मिता: was constructed
• निर्मिता: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + √मा (मा॒—माने/मितौ; धातु) → निर्मित (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे विधेय-विशेषणम्

• आनर्त्तीय-तडागस्य: of the Ānarttīya pond
• आनर्त्तीय-तडागस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनर्त्तीय (प्रातिपदिक) + तडाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (आनर्त्तीयं तडागम्)

• समीपे: near
• समीपे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पाप-नाशनी: destroyer of sins
• पाप-नाशनी: Karta (Predicate adjective to subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पापस्य नाशनी) विशेषणम् (कूपिकायाः)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kūpikā near Ānarttīya-taḍāga (pāpa-nāśinī)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (Naimiṣa-like assembly implied by genre)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred pond in Ānarta with a newly made small well on its southern side; pilgrims and ascetics approach with water pots; subtle aura of purification around the kūpikā.

Characters & Entities

• Ānarttīya taḍāga (pond)
• Kūpikā (well)
• Southern quarter of the kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Constructing and sanctifying water-sources near tīrthas supports pilgrims and becomes a dharmic act with purifying merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Ānarttīya pond area within the Adhyāya 103 kṣetra is praised, especially the nearby kūpikā described as pāpanāśanī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse highlights constructing a kūpikā (well) near a taḍāga as a meritorious, sin-destroying sacred work.