Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

। सूत उवाच । तस्मिन्क्षेत्रे तथादित्यः स्थापितो द्विजसत्तमाः । भीष्मेण ब्राह्मणेंद्राणां संमतेन तथात्मना

Transliteration

| sūta uvāca | tasminkṣetre tathādityaḥ sthāpito dvijasattamāḥ | bhīṣmeṇa brāhmaṇeṃdrāṇāṃ saṃmatena tathātmanā

Translation

قال سوتا: في تلك البقعة المقدسة، يا خيرَ ذوي الولادتين، أُقيم إلهُ الشمس إقامةً لائقة على يد بهيشما نفسه، بموافقة سادة البراهمة وبعزمٍ باطنيٍّ كامل.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta (the narrator)
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṣetre: field/holy place
• kṣetre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• ādityaḥ: Āditya (the Sun)
• ādityaḥ: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• sthāpitaḥ: was स्थापित/installed
• sthāpitaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थ (passive sense)

• dvija-sattamāḥ: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvija-sattamāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative-like address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dvijānāṃ sattamāḥ = best among the twice-born)

• bhīṣmeṇa: by Bhīṣma
• bhīṣmeṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhīṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• brāhmaṇa-indrāṇām: of the chiefs among Brahmins
• brāhmaṇa-indrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (brāhmaṇānām indrāḥ = lords among Brahmins)

• saṃmatena: with the consent/approval
• saṃmatena: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃmata (प्रातिपदिक; kta from √man ‘to think/approve’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying: ‘with approval/consent’)

• tathā: also/likewise
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb: likewise)

• ātmanā: by himself / personally
• ātmanā: Karana (Instrument/Agentive means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (best of the twice-born)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhīṣma, austere and radiant, oversees the installation of a Sūrya icon in a sacred precinct while senior brāhmaṇas chant; the atmosphere is solemn, with ritual vessels, arghya-water, and a rising sun motif.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Āditya
• Sūrya
• Bhīṣma
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sanctity of a place is reinforced by the formal installation of the deity, performed with orthodox consent and firm intention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘tasmin kṣetre’ refers to the same Sūrya/Sāmbasūrya kṣetra being narrated in the surrounding Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pratiṣṭhā (installation/enshrinement) of Āditya is referenced as the sanctifying act.