Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

स्वयं दृष्टः श्रुतो वापि संजातोऽत्र धरातले । स्वर्गं गतः शरीरेण सहितस्तत्प्रकीर्तय

Transliteration

svayaṃ dṛṣṭaḥ śruto vāpi saṃjāto'tra dharātale | svargaṃ gataḥ śarīreṇa sahitastatprakīrtaya

Translation

إن كنتَ قد رأيتَ ذلك بنفسك، أو حتى سمعتَ به—أن أحدًا وُلِد على هذه الأرض ثم مضى إلى السماء مصاحبًا جسده نفسه—فاذكر ذلك المثال صراحةً وبيانًا.

Word by Word

• svayam: personally, oneself
• svayam: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb)

• dṛṣṭaḥ: seen
• dṛṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (as predicate adjective to implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; used predicatively

• śrutaḥ: heard
• śrutaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (as predicate adjective to implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śru (धातु) → śruta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; used predicatively

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), विकल्पार्थे (or)

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भावे (also/even)

• saṃjātaḥ: born, arisen
• saṃjātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (as predicate adjective to implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-√jan (धातु) → saṃjāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; used predicatively

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), देशवाचक (locative sense: here)

• dharā-tale: on the surface of the earth
• dharā-tale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative) ‘धरायाः तलम्’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• svargam: to heaven
• svargam: Karma (Object/कर्म) (goal of motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• gataḥ: gone
• gataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (as predicate adjective to implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; used predicatively

• śarīreṇa: with the body
• śarīreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• sahitaḥ: accompanied, together with
• sahitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (as predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) ‘सह्/सहाय’ भावे, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘accompanied’

• tat-prakīrtaya: proclaim/praise that
• tat-prakīrtaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pra-√kīrt (धातु) → prakīrtaya (तिङन्त)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘प्रकीर्तय’ = praise/declare; ‘तत्’ as कर्म (object)

Speaker

Triśaṅku (implied: he challenges Vasiṣṭha for a bodily ascent to heaven)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Triśaṅku

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vasiṣṭha, firm yet composed, challenges Triśaṅku to name any person who ascended to heaven with the same body; Triśaṅku appears unsettled, searching for an answer.

Characters & Entities

• Svarga
• Śarīra (body)
• Dharātala (earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse foregrounds the exceptional claim of attaining heaven with the physical body, challenging ordinary karmic expectations and setting up a test of spiritual authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in the verse; the tīrtha-setting is implicit in the surrounding Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription is given here; it requests a precedent/example for bodily ascent to heaven.