Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

नागह्रदं तु तत्तीर्थमेतद्भावि धरातले । अत्र यः श्रावणे मासि पञ्चम्यां भक्तितत्परः

Transliteration

nāgahradaṃ tu tattīrthametadbhāvi dharātale | atra yaḥ śrāvaṇe māsi pañcamyāṃ bhaktitatparaḥ

Translation

இந்தத் தீர்த்தம் பூமியில் இனி ‘நாகஹ்ரதம்’ எனப் புகழ்பெறும். சிராவண மாதத்தின் பஞ்சமியில் இங்கு பக்தியுடன் (வருபவர்)…

Word by Word

• nāga-hradam: the serpent-lake
• nāga-hradam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक) + hrada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) ‘hrada’, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (nāgānāṃ hradaḥ)

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• tat-tīrtham: that sacred ford/place
• tat-tīrtham: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया/प्रथमा (Acc/Nom), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारयः (‘that’ as qualifier)

• etat-bhāvi: to be (known) as this / of this name (future designation)
• etat-bhāvi: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम) + bhāvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘this’ + ‘to be/coming to be’)

• dharā-tale: on the surface of the earth
• dharā-tale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dharāyāḥ tale)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम

• śrāvaṇe: in (the month of) Śrāvaṇa
• śrāvaṇe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pañcamyām: on the fifth (lunar day)
• pañcamyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañcamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); तिथिवाचक

• bhakti-tat-paraḥ: devotion-focused, devoted
• bhakti-tat-paraḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + tatpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (bhakteḥ tatparaḥ = devoted to devotion)

Speaker

Devī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāgahrada

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil lake/pond (hrada) near Arbuda caves, with Nāga motifs on stones; pilgrims arrive in monsoon month, offering milk/flowers, preparing for pañcamī observance.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Nāgahrada
• Śrāvaṇa
• Pañcamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa links sacred geography with devotional time: faith-filled observance on auspicious dates activates tīrtha-merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāgahrada—named explicitly as a future tīrtha on the earth.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance in Śrāvaṇa on pañcamī with devotion is introduced (completed in the next verse with snāna).