Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

बलानाडी तुष्टिकाष्ठा रसना च सरस्वती । यत्किञ्चित्त्रिषु लोकेषु बहुत्वाद्यन्न कीर्तितम्

Transliteration

balānāḍī tuṣṭikāṣṭhā rasanā ca sarasvatī | yatkiñcittriṣu lokeṣu bahutvādyanna kīrtitam

Translation

พระองค์คือบาลานาฑี คือทุษฏิกาษฐา และคือรสานา; พระองค์คือพระสรัสวตีเอง สิ่งใดก็ตามที่มีอยู่ในสามโลก—ด้วยความไพศาลยิ่ง—ข้าพเจ้ายังมิอาจกล่าวนามได้ครบถ้วน

Word by Word

• बलानाडी: channel of strength (name/epithet)
• बलानाडी: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल (प्रातिपदिक) + नाडी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बलस्य नाडी)

• तुष्टिकाष्ठा: limit/culmination of contentment (epithet)
• तुष्टिकाष्ठा: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + काष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तुष्टेः काष्ठा/सीमा)

• रसना: tongue; girdle
• रसना: Pradhāna-nāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रसना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

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

• यत्: whatever
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; (अत्र ‘यत् किञ्चित्’ = whatever)

• किञ्चित्: anything, something
• किञ्चित्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्

• त्रिषु: in the three
• त्रिषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative); बहुवचनम्; (त्रिषु = in three)

• लोकेषु: worlds
• लोकेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्; सप्तमी-विभक्तिः; बहुवचनम्

• बहुत्वात्: because of abundance
• बहुत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहुत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; हेत्वर्थे (Ablative of cause: because of multitude)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; (यत् ... न कीर्तितम्)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• कीर्तितम्: mentioned, praised
• कीर्तितम्: Kriyā (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्त् (धातु) + त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः; एकवचनम्; (न कीर्तितम् = not mentioned)

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A poet-devotee bows with folded hands, Sarasvatī’s presence behind as a gentle radiance; around them, the three worlds appear as a vast panorama, suggesting the impossibility of fully naming all forms.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Tri-loka (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Divine cannot be exhausted by lists; sincere praise acknowledges the Goddess as the limitless ground of all names and forms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the all-inclusive Sarasvatī-stotra within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse models stuti (hymnic praise) as the practice; no separate dāna, snāna, or vrata is specified.