Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

सर्पदष्टस्य यस्यैतत्पुरतः पठ्यते भृशम् । नागतीर्थस्य माहात्म्यं काल दष्टोऽपि जीवति

Transliteration

sarpadaṣṭasya yasyaitatpurataḥ paṭhyate bhṛśam | nāgatīrthasya māhātmyaṃ kāla daṣṭo'pi jīvati

Translation

جسے سانپ نے ڈسا ہو، اگر اس کے سامنے ناگ تیرتھ کے مہاتمیہ کی یہ زور دار تلاوت بلند آواز سے پڑھی جائے تو وہ—گویا موت نے بھی ڈس لیا ہو—پھر بھی زندہ رہتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• sarpa-daṣṭasya: of one bitten by a snake
• sarpa-daṣṭasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + √daś (दंश्/दश्, धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्पेण दष्टः)

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• etat: this (text)
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• purataḥ: in front (of him); in his presence
• purataḥ: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puratas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषणम् (in front/presence)

• paṭhyate: is recited
• paṭhyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paṭh (पठ्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (is read/recited)

• bhṛśam: intensely; greatly
• bhṛśam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhṛśa (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; तीव्रार्थक क्रियाविशेषणम् (excessively/strongly)

• nāga-tīrthasya: of Nāga-tīrtha
• nāga-tīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (नागानां तीर्थम्)

• māhātmyam: the greatness; the glorification
• māhātmyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject)

• kāla-daṣṭaḥ: one seized by death (lit. bitten by Time)
• kāla-daṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + √daś (दंश्/दश्, धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कालेन दष्टः = bitten by Time/death)

• api: even
• api: Avadhāraṇa (Concessive/अपि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (निपात)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अपि = even/also

• jīvati: lives; survives
• jīvati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jīv (जीव्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from section frame; explicit Sūta at 184.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ / audience of the māhātmya (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A snakebitten person lies weakened; a reciter chants forcefully in front; nāga energy is appeased; Yama’s shadow retreats as life returns.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga-tīrtha
• Kāla (Death)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred speech (pāṭha) of a tīrtha’s māhātmya is portrayed as a life-protecting dharmic power when done with faith.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāga-tīrtha, whose māhātmya is said to counteract even fatal danger.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pāṭha: reading/reciting the Nāga-tīrtha māhātmya aloud before a snake-bitten person.