Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

यावत्संधारयेद्भूमिस्तमश्वत्थं नराधिप । कृतोद्वाहं समं शम्या तावद्वंशोऽपि तिष्ठति

Transliteration

yāvatsaṃdhārayedbhūmistamaśvatthaṃ narādhipa | kṛtodvāhaṃ samaṃ śamyā tāvadvaṃśo'pi tiṣṭhati

Translation

হে নৰাধিপ, যিমান দিন ধৰণীয়ে সেই অশ্বত্থক ধাৰণ কৰে, সিমান দিন বংশো স্থিৰ থাকে—শম্যা দণ্ডৰ দৰে দৃঢ়, যেন বিধিমতে বিবাহ-সংস্কাৰে সুপ্ৰতিষ্ঠিত।

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/परिमाणवाचक), यावत् = 'यावद्-कालपर्यन्तम्' (as long as)

• संधारयेत्: would sustain/hold together
• संधारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√धृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; सम्-उपसर्गपूर्वकः

• भूमिः: the earth
• भूमिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्

• तम्: that
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• अश्वत्थम्: the aśvattha tree (sacred fig)
• अश्वत्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśvattha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• नराधिप: O king
• नराधिप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara + adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्ग; तत्पुरुषः (नराणाम् अधिपः)

• कृतोद्वाहम्: having had the marriage performed
• कृतोद्वाहम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta + udvāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (कृतः उद्वाहः यस्य)

• समम्: equal/along with
• समम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• शम्या: with the śamyā (a ritual wooden implement)
• शम्या: Karana/Sahakari (Instrument/Associate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śamyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम् (सह/समं-योगे साधन/सहकारकभावः)

• तावत्: so long/that long
• तावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तावत् = 'तावद्-कालपर्यन्तम्', correlative to यावत्)

• वंशः: lineage
• वंशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/समुच्चयार्थक)

• तिष्ठति: stands/continues
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Unknown (Nāgarakhaṇḍa narrator addressing a king; speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aśvattha-pratiṣṭhā (as a merit-anchor)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: narādhipa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flourishing aśvattha stands rooted and protected; behind it, a visual metaphor of an unbroken family line (ancestors-descendants) indicating vaṃśa continuity as long as the tree endures.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvattha
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustaining sacred dharmic supports—like the aśvattha planted for the Pitṛs—symbolically and karmically sustains one’s lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; the emphasis is on the merit of aśvattha establishment within the Tīrthamāhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Continued maintenance of the established aśvattha as a long-term dharmic observance tied to family continuity.