Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

समाऽयातो द्विजश्रेष्ठा यत्र सा पितृकूपिका । तृषार्तश्च श्रमार्तश्च निषसाद धरातले

Transliteration

samā'yāto dvijaśreṣṭhā yatra sā pitṛkūpikā | tṛṣārtaśca śramārtaśca niṣasāda dharātale

Translation

اے برہمنوں میں برتر! وہ اُس جگہ پہنچے جہاں وہ پِترکُوپِکا (آباء کا کنواں) ہے؛ پیاس اور تھکن سے نڈھال ہو کر وہ زمین پر بیٹھ گئے۔

Word by Word

• समायातः: having arrived
• समायातः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-या (धातु) → समायात (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'आगत'

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: O best of the twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजश्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; द्विज+श्रेष्ठ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रयोगः (vocative sense in address)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb 'where')

• सा: that (she/it)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संकेतवाचक (that)

• पितृकूपिका: the Pitṛ-well (Pitṛkūpikā)
• पितृकूपिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृकूपिका (प्रातिपदिक; पितृ+कूपिका)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; स्थाननाम

• तृषार्तः: afflicted by thirst
• तृषार्तः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृषा+आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'तृषया पीडित'

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• श्रमार्तः: wearied; afflicted by fatigue
• श्रमार्तः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रम+आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'श्रमेन पीडित'

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• निषसाद: sat down
• निषसाद: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-षद् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• धरातले: on the ground
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरातल (प्रातिपदिक; धरा+तल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitṛkūpikā

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (sages; implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāma, weary and thirsty, sits on the ground near a sacred well named Pitṛkūpikā; Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa stand nearby, attentive, with the forest and the well as focal points.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛkūpikā
• Rāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites often arise around human need and divine encounter; even fatigue becomes the doorway to tīrtha-revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pitṛkūpikā—the tīrtha described as an ‘ancestor-well,’ associated with pitṛ-related merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated in this verse; it locates the tīrtha and frames the episode that will ground its ritual significance.