Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

स गच्छन्मरुमार्गेण मां समादाय स्नेहतः । संप्राप्तो निर्जलं देशं सुरौद्रं मरुमंडलम्

Transliteration

sa gacchanmarumārgeṇa māṃ samādāya snehataḥ | saṃprāpto nirjalaṃ deśaṃ suraudraṃ marumaṃḍalam

Translation

เมื่อเขาเดินทางไปตามเส้นทางทะเลทราย ด้วยความรักใคร่จึงพาข้าพเจ้าไปด้วย แล้วเขาก็มาถึงแดนไร้น้ำ—ผืนวงล้อมแห่งทะเลทรายอันดุร้ายยิ่ง

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — he

• gacchan: going
• gacchan: Karta (Agent participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gacchat (कृदन्त; √gam (गम्) शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — going/while going

• maru-mārgeṇa: by the desert route
• maru-mārgeṇa: Karana (Instrument/Path/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maru (प्रातिपदिक) + mārga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — by the desert-path

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया, एकवचन — me

• samādāya: having taken (me) along
• samādāya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (दा) with sam-ā- (समादाय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive) — having taken along

• snehataḥ: out of affection
• snehataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sneha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — out of affection/from love

• saṃprāptaḥ: reached
• saṃprāptaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃprāpta (कृदन्त; √āp (आप्) with sam-pra)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — arrived/reached

• nirjalam: waterless
• nirjalam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'deśam' इति विशेष्येण सह — waterless

• deśam: region/country
• deśam: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — (to) a region

• sura-udram: very fierce
• sura-udram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + udra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'marumaṃḍalam' इति विशेष्येण सह — extremely fierce/terrible (lit. god-fierce)

• maru-maṃḍalam: desert tract
• maru-maṃḍalam: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maru (प्रातिपदिक) + maṃḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — desert-region

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A couple travels with sparse baggage across a blazing desert; heat haze rises; cracked earth and dunes surround them; the woman looks weary yet steadfast, the husband supportive.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma and devotion are tested in harsh landscapes; the narrative prepares for the revelation of a saving tīrtha or sacred water in adversity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears yet; the verse sets the scene in a desert expanse where a water-source will become spiritually significant.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is narrative context describing travel through a desert.