Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ततः सा दर्शयामास दाशकन्या जलाशयम् । बहुवीरुधसंछन्नं दुष्प्रवेशं च देहिनाम्

Transliteration

tataḥ sā darśayāmāsa dāśakanyā jalāśayam | bahuvīrudhasaṃchannaṃ duṣpraveśaṃ ca dehinām

Translation

پھر اُس ماہی گیر لڑکی نے انہیں ایک آبی ذخیرہ دکھایا—جو بہت سی بیل بوٹیوں سے ڈھکا ہوا تھا اور جسم داروں کے لیے اس میں داخل ہونا دشوار تھا۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse/time connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘ततः’ (then/from there)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• darśayāmāsa: showed
• darśayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु) (णिच् causative: darśaya-)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्ष), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिजन्त (causative)

• dāśakanyā: the fisherman's daughter
• dāśakanyā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दाशस्य कन्या)

• jalāśayam: a water-reservoir; pond
• jalāśayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (जलस्य आशयः)

• bahuvīrudhasaṃchannam: covered with many creepers/plants
• bahuvīrudhasaṃchannam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of jalāśayam/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrudh (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃchanna (सम्-√छद्/√छद् + क्त, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (बहुभिः वीरुधैः संछन्नम्)

• duṣpraveśam: hard to enter
• duṣpraveśam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dus (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + praveśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (दुष्टः/दुर्लभः प्रवेशः यस्य)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयार्थक/conjunction): ‘च’

• dehinām: of embodied beings; of people
• dehinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (third-person narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The fisher-girl parts thick creepers to reveal a dark, still reservoir; the water glints under moonlight; brāhmaṇas peer in with awe, hesitant at the difficult descent.

Characters & Entities

• dāśakanyā (fisher-girl)
• jalāśaya (sacred pond)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity is not diminished by physical inaccessibility; hidden places can hold great spiritual power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular jalāśaya tīrtha (pond/lake) described as overgrown and difficult to access.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: one must make effort to reach and enter the tīrtha for purification.