Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

ततश्च तत्क्षणाज्जातं तत्तोयं रुधिरं द्विजाः । सारस्वतं सुपुण्यं च यदासीच्छंखसंनिभम्

Transliteration

tataśca tatkṣaṇājjātaṃ tattoyaṃ rudhiraṃ dvijāḥ | sārasvataṃ supuṇyaṃ ca yadāsīcchaṃkhasaṃnibham

Translation

แล้วในบัดดลนั้นเอง โอ้ทวิชะทั้งหลาย น้ำก็นั้นกลับกลายเป็นโลหิต—ทั้งที่เป็นน้ำสารถวตะอันเปี่ยมบุญยิ่ง ซึ่งก่อนนั้นส่องสว่างดุจสังข์

Word by Word

• ततः: thereupon
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/तदनन्तरम् (thereupon/then)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• तत्क्षणात्: from that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Apadana (Source/time-from)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः: तत् + क्षण); पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी विभक्ति; एकवचन

• जातम्: arose/was produced
• जातम्: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) → जात (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; अत्र ‘अभवत्/उत्पन्नम्’ अर्थे

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; तोयम् इति विशेषण

• तोयम्: water
• तोयम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• रुधिरम्: blood
• रुधिरम्: Kriya-puraka (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुधिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; तोयम् इति समानाधिकरण (predicate noun)

• द्विजाः: O twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे प्रयोगः (vocative sense though nominative form)

• सारस्वतम्: connected with Sarasvatī / Sarasvata
• सारस्वतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सारस्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; रुधिरम्/तोयम् इति विशेषण

• सुपुण्यम्: very holy
• सुपुण्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण; ‘सु’ उपसर्गेण अतिशयार्थः

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karta (Subject of relative clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• आसीत्: was
• आसीत्: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (भूतकाल/Imperfect); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• शङ्खसन्निभम्: resembling a conch
• शङ्खसन्निभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शङ्ख (प्रातिपदिक) + सन्निभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः: शङ्खस्य सन्निभम् = like a conch); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; यत्/रुधिरम् इति विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing sages/brāhmaṇas)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata-jala

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ (brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The conch-white sacred water suddenly flushes crimson like blood; onlookers recoil as the river’s surface gleams red under a darkened sky.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī (implied by Sārasvata)
• Brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a supremely holy tīrtha can manifest fearsome forms when divine speech (śāpa/mantra) operates—reminding pilgrims to approach sacred sites with reverence and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sārasvata water/tīrtha (Sārasvata-jala), associated with Sarasvatī and praised for extraordinary purity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it narrates the miraculous change in the tīrtha-water.