Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

ततश्च वारुणी जाता दिव्यगन्धसमन्विता । बलिना संगृहीता सा प्रत्यक्षं बलविद्विषः

Transliteration

tataśca vāruṇī jātā divyagandhasamanvitā | balinā saṃgṛhītā sā pratyakṣaṃ balavidviṣaḥ

Translation

پھر وارُنی نمودار ہوئی، جو الٰہی خوشبو سے معطر تھی۔ اسے بلی نے لے لیا—بالکل عیاں طور پر، بلی کے دشمن پروردگار کی موجودگی میں۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ततोऽर्थे (adverb: then/from there)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• vāruṇī: Vāruṇī (a goddess/liquor)
• vāruṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāruṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• jātā: arose/was born
• jātā: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भावे/कर्तरि—'arose/was born'

• divya-gandha-samanvitā: endowed with divine fragrance
• divya-gandha-samanvitā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक) + gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष (divine fragrance + endowed-with)

• balinā: by Bali
• balinā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: balin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• saṃgṛhītā: was taken/held
• saṃgṛhītā: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-grah (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—'was seized/taken'

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

• pratyakṣam: openly; in plain sight
• pratyakṣam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pratyakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावे क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbial accusative: openly/before the eyes)

• bala-vidviṣaḥ: of the enemy of Bala (i.e., Bali)
• bala-vidviṣaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक) + vidviṣ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (बलस्य विद्विषः = enemy of Bala/Indra)

Speaker

Unknown (deduced: Purāṇic narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya, likely Sūta/Skanda-style narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vāruṇī (as sacred substance/personified)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From the foaming ocean rises Vāruṇī, radiant and fragrant; Bali seizes her openly while Viṣṇu (Bali’s foe) witnesses, heightening dramatic contrast between asura claim and divine oversight.

Characters & Entities

• Vāruṇī
• Bali
• Bali-vidviṣ (Bali’s adversary)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid cosmic churning and rivalry, divine manifestations arise according to destiny; discernment is implied in what one chooses to accept.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits inside a Tīrthamāhātmya chapter, but the shloka itself focuses on Samudra-manthana outcomes rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse.