Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

विश्वामित्र उवाच । इंद्रोऽपि विष्णुवाक्येन हिमवंतं समागतः । ऐरावतं समारुह्य नागेद्रं पर्वतोपमम्

Transliteration

viśvāmitra uvāca | iṃdro'pi viṣṇuvākyena himavaṃtaṃ samāgataḥ | airāvataṃ samāruhya nāgedraṃ parvatopamam

Translation

وشوامتر نے کہا: وشنو کے کلام سے تحریک پا کر اندر بھی ہماوان کے پاس آیا؛ ایراوت پر سوار ہو کر وہ پہاڑوں کے سردار ناگیدر کی طرف بڑھا، جو خود چوٹی کی مانند بلند تھا۔

Word by Word

• viśvāmitraḥ: Viśvāmitra
• viśvāmitraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśvāmitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; वक्ता

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• indraḥ: Indra
• indraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चयार्थक (also/even)

• viṣṇuvākyena: by Viṣṇu's words
• viṣṇuvākyena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu-vākya (प्रातिपदिक; विष्णु + वाक्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; करण

• himavantam: to Himavat (Himalaya)
• himavantam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: himavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; गन्तव्य-देशः

• samāgataḥ: arrived
• samāgataḥ: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘having come’

• airāvatam: Airāvata (elephant)
• airāvatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: airāvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• samāruhya: having mounted
• samāruhya: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-ruh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• nāgedram: Nāgendra (the king of mountains)
• nāgedram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga-indra (प्रातिपदिक; नाग + इन्द्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; गन्तव्य-देशः

• parvatopamam: mountain-like
• parvatopamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parvata-upama (प्रातिपदिक; पर्वत + उपम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपमानवाचक-विशेषणम्

Speaker

Viśvāmitra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himavān (Himalaya) as tapas-kṣetra setting

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience within the frame (continuing the Śakra–Viṣṇu-linked narrative stream)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, crowned and radiant, rides the white elephant Airāvata through cloud-banks toward the towering Himalaya; distant peaks resemble a ‘mountain like a mountain’—a visual hyperbole of grandeur.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra
• Indra
• Viṣṇu
• Himavān (Himālaya)
• Airāvata

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the king of gods moves under dharmic counsel; divine power is guided by higher instruction and sacred purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Himavān/Himālaya sacred region, presented as a tīrtha-landscape of revered āśramas within the Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse sets the pilgrimage context (arrival to a sacred region) rather than a specific rite.