Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

तत्किं पानीयदोषो वा किं वा भूमेर्मुनी श्वर । येनेदृक्सहसा यातं विकृतिं मे शरीरकम्

Transliteration

tatkiṃ pānīyadoṣo vā kiṃ vā bhūmermunī śvara | yenedṛksahasā yātaṃ vikṛtiṃ me śarīrakam

Translation

اے مُنیوں کے سردار! کیا یہ پینے کے پانی کا کوئی عیب ہے، یا زمین ہی میں کوئی نقص—جس کے سبب میرا جسم یوں اچانک بگڑ کر ٹیڑھا ہو گیا؟

Word by Word

• tat: that (this matter)
• tat: Visheshya (Correlative/अनुवर्त्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kim: what?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• pānīya-doṣaḥ: fault/defect of the water
• pānīya-doṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pānīya (प्रातिपदिक) + doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पानीयस्य दोषः)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• kim: what?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: 'or')

• bhūmeḥ: of the earth/ground
• bhūmeḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• munīśvara: O lord of sages
• munīśvara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुनीनां ईश्वरः)

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• īdṛk: such (like this)
• īdṛk: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (indeclinable-like adjective), अर्थे 'एतादृश'

• sahasā: suddenly
• sahasā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• yātam: gone/come to (has reached)
• yātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; √या (गत्यर्थ)

• vikṛtim: deformity/change
• vikṛtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• me: my
• me: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śarīrakam: body
• śarīrakam: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

Speaker

The king (bhūmipaḥ) addressing sage Viśvāmitra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viśvāmitra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary king at the edge of Puṣkara’s waters notices his body suddenly distorted; he turns in alarm toward the sage Viśvāmitra, questioning whether water or earth is at fault.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A dhārmic person investigates the moral and ritual cause of suffering rather than blaming the sacred place itself.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Puṣkara is the setting; the teaching will clarify that the tīrtha is holy and the fault lies in the manner of approach.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it is a diagnostic question that prompts the sage’s explanation.