Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पुरासीदत्र गोपालः कश्चित्कुष्ठसमावृतः । चमत्कारपुरं विप्र अतीव क्षामतां गतः

Transliteration

purāsīdatra gopālaḥ kaścitkuṣṭhasamāvṛtaḥ | camatkārapuraṃ vipra atīva kṣāmatāṃ gataḥ

Translation

往昔，此地有一位牧牛人，周身为麻风所覆。噢婆罗门，在名为“奇迹城”（Camatkārapura）的城中，他已极度消瘦衰弱。

Word by Word

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kala (Time adjunct/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly)

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (here)

• gopālaḥ: a cowherd
• gopālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kaścit: some (one)
• kaścit: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścit (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• kuṣṭha-samāvṛtaḥ: covered with leprosy
• kuṣṭha-samāvṛtaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṣṭha-sam-āvṛta (प्रातिपदिक; कुष्ठ + समावृत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (P.P.P. of सम्+आ√वृ ‘to cover’), विशेषणम्

• camatkārapuram: to Camatkāra-pura
• camatkārapuram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: camatkāra-pura (प्रातिपदिक; चमत्कार + पुर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः कर्म (object of gataḥ)

• vipra: O brāhmaṇa
• vipra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधनम्

• atīva: exceedingly
• atīva: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तीव्रतावाचक (very/exceedingly)

• kṣāmatām: emaciation; weakness
• kṣāmatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣāmatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (state/condition)

• gataḥ: having gone; having reached; having become
• gataḥ: Kriya (Participial predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्यय (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomukha (context for forthcoming cure)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor / Naimiṣāraṇya sages (the verse addresses ‘vipra’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A thin, leprosy-afflicted cowherd in a modest town setting; compassionate onlookers; distant hint of the sacred landscape he will approach (stream/kuṇḍa).

Characters & Entities

• Gopāla (cowherd)
• Camatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human suffering and illness become the narrative doorway through which a tīrtha’s compassion and purifying power is revealed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is set near Gomukha-tīrtha, in the locale associated with Camatkārapura.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse; it introduces the afflicted devotee whose encounter with the sacred waters will unfold.