Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

कदाचिन्महिषारूढः स प्रतस्थे दनोः सुतः । जाह्नवीतीरमासाद्य विनिघ्नञ्जलपक्षिणः

Transliteration

kadācinmahiṣārūḍhaḥ sa pratasthe danoḥ sutaḥ | jāhnavītīramāsādya vinighnañjalapakṣiṇaḥ

Translation

ایک بار بھینس پر سوار ہو کر دنو کا وہ بیٹا روانہ ہوا؛ جاہنوی کے کنارے پہنچ کر وہاں کے آبی پرندوں کو مارنے لگا۔

Word by Word

• kadācit: once, at some time
• kadācit: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• mahiṣa-ārūḍhaḥ: mounted on a buffalo
• mahiṣa-ārūḍhaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ā-rūḍha (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सर्वनाम)

• pratasthe: set out, departed
• pratasthe: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-sthā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• danoḥ: of Danu
• danoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: danu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• sutaḥ: son
• sutaḥ: Apposition (सम्बोधन/विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jāhnavī-tīram: the bank of the Jāhnavī (Ganges)
• jāhnavī-tīram: Karma (Object/goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāhnavī (प्रातिपदिक) + tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• āsādya: having reached
• āsādya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-sad (धातु) + āsādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभाव

• vinighnan: striking down, killing
• vinighnan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ni-han (धातु) + nighnat (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण (simultaneous action)

• jala-pakṣiṇaḥ: water-birds
• jala-pakṣiṇaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (object)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) tīra

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Citrasama, son of Danu, riding a buffalo along the Jahnavī’s bank, striking down water-birds; the sacred river glows while birds scatter and fall, creating a stark contrast between holiness and cruelty.

Characters & Entities

• Danu
• Dānava
• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Jalapakṣi (water-birds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Violence committed at a sacred riverbank becomes an immediate cause for downfall in Purāṇic dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Jahnavī—Gaṅgā—whose banks are repeatedly treated as a major tīrtha-field in the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse instead highlights adharma (harm to living beings) at a tīrtha.