Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

वसिष्ठ उवाच । अस्त्युपायो नगानां तु तत्र नेतुं महानग । तवायं तनयस्तत्र विख्यातो नंदिवर्द्धनः

Transliteration

vasiṣṭha uvāca | astyupāyo nagānāṃ tu tatra netuṃ mahānaga | tavāyaṃ tanayastatra vikhyāto naṃdivarddhanaḥ

Translation

วสิษฐะกล่าวว่า “โอ้ภูเขาผู้ยิ่งใหญ่ มีอุบายที่จะนำภูเขาทั้งหลายไปยังที่นั้นได้ บุตรของท่านผู้นี้ ผู้เลื่องชื่อที่นั่นว่า นันทิวรรธนะ จะกระทำให้สำเร็จ”

Word by Word

• वसिष्ठः: Vasiṣṭha
• वसिष्ठः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• अस्ति: there is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Existential/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• उपायः: a means
• उपायः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नगानाम्: for/of the mountains
• नगानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विशेषार्थक-निपात

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक

• नेतुम्: to lead (them)
• नेतुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), प्रयोजनार्थक

• महानग: O great mountain
• महानग: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + नग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् नगः)

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तनयः: son
• तनयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक

• विख्यातः: renowned
• विख्यातः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + ख्या (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (तनयः)

• नन्दिवर्द्धनः: Nandivardhana (name)
• नन्दिवर्द्धनः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दि + वर्द्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नन्देः वर्द्धनः) / नाम

Speaker

Vasiṣṭha

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda (via Nandivardhana’s agency)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A ‘great mountain’ (mahānaga/mahānagaḥ—personified mountain)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Vasiṣṭha, calm and radiant, addressing a personified great mountain; he gestures toward a youthful, heroic figure—Nandivardhana—standing ready as the ‘means’.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Himavān
• Nandivardhana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through wise counsel: even great obstacles can be resolved by a proper means (upāya) aligned with duty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa context, oriented to the Arbuda (Mount Abu) sacred landscape rather than a specific tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the focus is on appointing an agent (Nandivardhana) to accomplish a sacred task.