Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

वर्षंति जलदाः कामं भवन्त्योषधयोऽखिलाः । यत्किंचिद्भूतले ज्ञानं शास्त्रं वा सुरसत्तम । तत्तत्र समभावेन न सत्यं नैव चानृतम्

Transliteration

varṣaṃti jaladāḥ kāmaṃ bhavantyoṣadhayo'khilāḥ | yatkiṃcidbhūtale jñānaṃ śāstraṃ vā surasattama | tattatra samabhāvena na satyaṃ naiva cānṛtam

Translation

Облака проливают дождь по желанию, и все целебные травы произрастают. Какое бы знание или писание ни было на земле, о лучший из богов, — там, по равному соразмерению, оно не бывает ни вполне истинным, ни вполне ложным.

Word by Word

• varṣanti: they rain
• varṣanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• jaladāḥ: clouds
• jaladāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jalada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• kāmam: as desired; abundantly
• kāmam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial particle) अर्थे—‘यथेष्टम्/पर्याप्तम्’

• bhavanti: they become; they grow
• bhavanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• oṣadhayaḥ: herbs; medicinal plants
• oṣadhayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṣadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• akhilāḥ: all; entire
• akhilāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akhila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचनम् (plural); विशेषणम् (qualifier) oṣadhayaḥ इति

• yat: whatever
• yat: Anubandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular); सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• kiṃcit: anything; something
• kiṃcit: Karta/Karma (Subject/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular); अनिश्चितार्थक (indefinite)

• bhūtale: on the earth; on the ground
• bhūtale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• jñānam: knowledge
• jñānam: Karta/Karma (Subject/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• śāstram: scripture; treatise
• śāstram: Karta/Karma (Subject/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāstra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; विकल्पार्थक-समुच्चय (disjunctive particle ‘or’)

• surasattama: O best of gods
• surasattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura-sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचनम् (singular); ‘सुर’ + ‘सत्तम’ (श्रेष्ठः)

• tat: that
• tat: Anubandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular); संकेतार्थक (correlative)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• samabhāvena: with equanimity; equally
• samabhāvena: Hetu/Prakaraṇa (Manner/Instrumental/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sama-bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masculine), तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचनम् (singular); ‘सम’ + ‘भाव’

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निषेध (negation particle)

• satyam: true
• satyam: Pratishedhya (Negated predicate/प्रतिषेध्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निषेध (negation particle)

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Avadharana (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चय (conjunction ‘and’)

• anṛtam: false; untrue
• anṛtam: Pratishedhya (Negated predicate/प्रतिषेध्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: surasattama / surādhīśa (best/lord of the gods—typically Indra in such address)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic tableau: monsoon clouds releasing measured rain over a verdant earth of medicinal herbs, while sages debate in a hall where scrolls and śāstras glow with mixed light—half luminous, half shadowed—signifying ‘neither true nor untrue’.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Jaladas (clouds)
• Oṣadhis (herbs)
• Śāstra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It characterizes Dvāpara as balanced and mixed: nature can still be favorable, yet knowledge and discourse are no longer purely aligned with truth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the chapter’s broader māhātmya discourse through yuga characterization.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on cosmological and epistemic conditions rather than ritual action.