Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

तुष्टिः पुष्टिर्वपुः प्रीतिः स्वधा स्वाहा विभावरी । रतिः प्रीतिः क्षितिर्गंगा सत्यं धर्मो मनस्विनी

Transliteration

tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭirvapuḥ prītiḥ svadhā svāhā vibhāvarī | ratiḥ prītiḥ kṣitirgaṃgā satyaṃ dharmo manasvinī

Translation

ข้าแต่เทวีผู้เป็นใหญ่ พระองค์คือความอิ่มเอมและความหล่อเลี้ยง คือความงามแห่งรูปและความรัก คือสวธาและสวาหา และคือราตรี พระองค์คือความรื่นรมย์และความเอ็นดู คือแผ่นดินและคงคา คือสัจจะและธรรมะ และคือพลังแห่งจิตที่มั่นคงและรู้เท่าทัน

Word by Word

• तुष्टिः: contentment
• तुष्टिः: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• पुष्टिः: nourishment, prosperity
• पुष्टिः: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• वपुः: body, form
• वपुः: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• प्रीतिः: love, delight
• प्रीतिः: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रीति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• स्वधा: svadhā (ancestral oblation-call)
• स्वधा: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; पितृयज्ञे आह्वान-मन्त्रशब्दः

• स्वाहा: svāhā (oblation-call)
• स्वाहा: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वाहा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; होम-आह्वान-मन्त्रशब्दः

• विभावरी: night
• विभावरी: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• रतिः: pleasure, love
• रतिः: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• प्रीतिः: love, delight
• प्रीतिः: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रीति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• क्षितिः: earth
• क्षितिः: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• गंगा: Gaṅgā
• गंगा: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• धर्मः: dharma, righteousness
• धर्मः: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• मनस्विनी: high-minded, intelligent
• मनस्विनी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनस्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; (मनस्विन्-शब्दस्य स्त्रीरूपम्)

Speaker

A king (bhūbhuj) praising Goddess Sarasvatī (deduced from immediate context; Sarasvatī speaks in 34)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as Devī-form)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Goddess is envisioned as a composite of nourishment, love, sacrificial fire-offerings (svāhā), ancestral offerings (svadhā), night, earth, and the flowing Gaṅgā—standing as a radiant sovereign while a river glimmers behind.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Gaṅgā
• Svadhā
• Svāhā
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is praised as the very substance of virtue and auspicious powers—truth, dharma, purity, and sacred rites—so devotion to her aligns one’s life with righteous order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; this line itself functions as a universal Devī-praise rather than naming a single tīrtha explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual act is prescribed in this verse; it is a stotra-style identification of the Goddess with sacrificial formulas (svadhā/svāhā), implying her presence in yajña and ancestral rites.