Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ऋषय ऊचुः । भट्टिकाख्या पुरा प्रोक्ता या त्वया सूतनन्दन । कस्मात्तस्याः शरीरान्ताद्दंष्ट्रा नागसमुद्भवाः

Transliteration

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | bhaṭṭikākhyā purā proktā yā tvayā sūtanandana | kasmāttasyāḥ śarīrāntāddaṃṣṭrā nāgasamudbhavāḥ

Translation

رِشیوں نے کہا: “اے سوت کے فرزند! تم نے پہلے بھٹّکا نامی عورت کا ذکر کیا تھا۔ اس کے جسم کے آخری حصے سے ناگوں سے پیدا شدہ ڈنک کیوں ظاہر ہوئے؟”

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: the sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ऊचुः: said
• ऊचुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• भट्टिकाख्या: named Bhaṭṭikā
• भट्टिकाख्या: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भट्टिका (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘भट्टिकानाम्नी’ इति (named Bhaṭṭikā)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• प्रोक्ता: was told/declared
• प्रोक्ता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, Past Passive Participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘कथिता’

• या: who/which
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (relative pronoun)

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• सूतनन्दन: O son of the Sūta
• सूतनन्दन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक) + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; ‘सूतस्य नन्दन’

• कस्मात्: from what cause/why
• कस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (for what reason)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• शरीरान्तात्: from the end/inside of the body
• शरीरान्तात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; ‘शरीरस्य अन्तः’

• दंष्ट्राः: fangs
• दंष्ट्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दंष्ट्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नागसमुद्भवाः: snake-born
• नागसमुद्भवाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘नागेभ्यः समुद्भवाः’ (born from/produced by serpents)

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūtanandana (Sūta’s son)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forest hermitage assembly: rishis seated in a semicircle, addressing Sūta’s son with raised hands in inquiry; the narrative hint of a mysterious woman (Bhaṭṭikā) and serpent imagery suggested symbolically (nāga-hood motif on a manuscript margin).

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Sūtanandana (Sūta’s son)
• Bhaṭṭikā
• Nāgas
• Daṃṣṭrā (fangs)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Māhātmya narratives are preserved through inquiry and transmission—sages ask precise questions so the sacred cause-and-effect (nidāna) is clearly known.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This opening question introduces the next tīrtha-linked origin account (nidāna) within Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it functions as a narrative prompt initiating the explanation of Bhaṭṭikā and the Nāga-related phenomenon.