Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

गज उवाच । वंशस्तंबेऽत्र संकीर्णे संप्रविष्टो हुताशनः । सांप्रतं तेन निर्दग्धः कृच्छ्रादत्राहमागतः

Transliteration

gaja uvāca | vaṃśastaṃbe'tra saṃkīrṇe saṃpraviṣṭo hutāśanaḥ | sāṃprataṃ tena nirdagdhaḥ kṛcchrādatrāhamāgataḥ

Translation

ช้างกล่าวว่า “หุตาศนะ—ไฟ—ได้เข้าไปในกอไผ่หนาทึบ ณ ที่นี้ บัดนี้ข้าถูกมันลวกไหม้ จึงมาถึงที่นี่ด้วยความยากลำบากยิ่ง”

Word by Word

• गजः: the elephant
• गजः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (Nom.); एकवचन (Sg.)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd); एकवचन (Sg.)

• वंशस्तम्बे: in a bamboo-clump
• वंशस्तम्बे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश (प्रातिपदिक) + स्तम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: 'of bamboo' + 'clump/pillar'); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (Loc.); एकवचन

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

• संकीर्णे: dense, tangled
• संकीर्णे: Visheshana (Qualifier of वंशस्तम्बे/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संकीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (Loc.); एकवचन; (अधिकरणे विशेषणम्)

• संप्रविष्टः: entered
• संप्रविष्टः: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + विश् (धातु) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• हुताशनः: fire (Hutāśana)
• हुताशनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुत + अशन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास ('हुतं अश्नाति' इति/‘eater of offerings’); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• सांप्रतम्: now
• सांप्रतम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सांप्रतम् (अव्यय/नपुंसक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'now/at present')

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुं/नपुंसक; तृतीया (Instr.); एकवचन

• निर्दग्धः: burnt
• निर्दग्धः: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर् + दह् (धातु) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• कृच्छ्रात्: with difficulty, from distress
• कृच्छ्रात्: Hetu/Ablative (Source/Reason nuance/अपादान-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th); एकवचन; (अव्ययीभावार्थे: 'with difficulty')

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (Nom.); एकवचन

• आगतः: have come
• आगतः: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

Speaker

Gaja (elephant)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The elephant, singed and exhausted, speaks to the devas, gesturing with trunk toward a tightly packed bamboo grove where flames have recently surged.

Characters & Entities

• Gaja (elephant)
• Hutāśana (Agni)
• Vaṃśa (bamboo thicket)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truthful speech in a crisis becomes service to the world; the Purāṇic ideal values accurate witness and helpful guidance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse describes a forest locale within the chapter’s narrative; a named tīrtha is not specified here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse.