Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तावत्प्राप्तो मुनिर्नाम शांडिल्यो वेदपारगः । तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन तत्र देशे द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

tāvatprāpto munirnāma śāṃḍilyo vedapāragaḥ | tīrthayātrāprasaṃgena tatra deśe dvijottamāḥ

Translation

وفي تلك اللحظة قدم الحكيم المسمّى شاندِليا، المتبحّر في الفيدات، إلى تلك الناحية في سياق حجّه إلى التيـرثات المقدّسة، يا خيرَ ذوي الميلادين.

Word by Word

• तावत्: then; at that time; so long
• तावत्: Adhikarana (Temporal/देश-कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/परिमाणवाचक (temporal/extent adverb)

• प्राप्तः: arrived; having come
• प्राप्तः: Kriya (मुख्यक्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु) + pra-; प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘arrived’ (PPP used predicatively)

• मुनिः: sage
• मुनिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (नामनिर्देश/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामार्थक-निपात (particle meaning ‘by name’)

• शाण्डिल्यः: Śāṇḍilya
• शाण्डिल्यः: Apposition (विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāṃḍilya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम (proper noun)

• वेदपारगः: knower of the Vedas; one who has mastered the Veda
• वेदपारगः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + pāraga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/उपपद-भाव: ‘वेदस्य पारगः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन: due to the occasion of a pilgrimage
• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन: Hetu (हेतु/कारण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक) + prasaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘तीर्थयात्रायाः प्रसङ्गः’); तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग (प्रसङ्ग)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• देशे: in the region/place
• देशे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तमाः: excellent Brahmins; best of the twice-born
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘उत्तमाः द्विजाः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (narration, addressing the assembled brāhmaṇas/sages as dvijottamāḥ)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ (addressed audience within the narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable sage Śāṇḍilya—calm yet purposeful—arrives at a sacred ford-region, greeted by assembled brāhmaṇas; the landscape suggests a tīrtha with trees, water, and ritual activity.

Characters & Entities

• Śāṇḍilya
• tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage)
• dvijottama (brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The arrival of a realized teacher during crisis signals that dharma is preserved through right guidance and tīrtha-based purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The adhyāya’s focus moves toward the Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā tīrtha in this kṣetra, approached through the theme of tīrtha-yātrā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā) is referenced as the context for the sage’s arrival.