Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

कथं तत्र पुरा शक्रः स्वामिद्रोहसमुद्भवात् । पातकादेव निर्मुक्तः कस्मिन्काले च सूतज

Transliteration

kathaṃ tatra purā śakraḥ svāmidrohasamudbhavāt | pātakādeva nirmuktaḥ kasminkāle ca sūtaja

Translation

О сын Су́ты, как некогда в том месте Шакра (Индра) был освобождён от самого греха, возникшего из предательства своего владыки, и в какое время это произошло?

Word by Word

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Kriya-visheshana (Interrogative adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक (how?)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशार्थक (there)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly)

• शक्रः: Śakra (Indra)
• शक्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्वामिद्रोहसमुद्भवात्: from (the sin) arising from betrayal of one’s master
• स्वामिद्रोहसमुद्भवात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामि + द्रोह + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (स्वामिद्रोहात् समुद्भवः)

• पातकात्: from the crime/sin
• पातकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis: indeed/only)

• निर्मुक्तः: freed
• निर्मुक्तः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्-मुच् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कस्मिन्: in which
• कस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; प्रश्न-सर्वनाम

• काले: time
• काले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• सूतज: O son of Sūta
• सूतज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सूतस्य जः)

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (Sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śakra-samudrava

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūtaja / Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages press Sūta for details: how and when Indra was absolved at Śakra-samudrava; Indra is imagined with vajra and humility, approaching the ocean-like tīrtha for purification.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Śakra-samudrava (tīrtha)
• Sūta (as addressed: sūtaja)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha narratives frame moral failure and purification as a teachable path through sacred place and divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śakra-samudrava-tīrtha, where Śakra is said to have been released from sin.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it requests the account of the event and its timing.