Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

स्वाध्यायाश्च वषट्काराः स्वधाकाराश्च नित्यशः । रामाज्ञापालकाश्चैव हनुमद्भक्तितत्पराः

Transliteration

svādhyāyāśca vaṣaṭkārāḥ svadhākārāśca nityaśaḥ | rāmājñāpālakāścaiva hanumadbhaktitatparāḥ

Translation

Sie sind dem Svādhyāya (Selbststudium) ergeben und vollziehen beständig die Anrufungen vaṣaṭ und svadhā. Zudem wahren sie Rāmas Gebot und sind ganz auf die Hingabe an Hanumān ausgerichtet.

Word by Word

• स्वाध्यायाः: reciters/students of self-study (svādhyāya)
• स्वाध्यायाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svādhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative plural

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय — conjunction

• वषट्काराः: utterers of ‘vaṣaṭ’
• वषट्काराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṣaṭ-kāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; वषट् + कार (उपपद-तत्पुरुषः) — Masculine, Nominative plural

• स्वधाकाराः: utterers of ‘svadhā’
• स्वधाकाराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svadhā-kāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; स्वधा + कार (उपपद-तत्पुरुषः) — Masculine, Nominative plural

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय — conjunction

• नित्यशः: always
• नित्यशः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/कालवाचक-अव्यय — adverb (always/constantly)

• रामाज्ञापालकाः: keepers of Rāma’s command
• रामाज्ञापालकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma-ājñā-pālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; राम + आज्ञा + पालक (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) — Masculine, Nominative plural

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय — conjunction

• एव: indeed
• एव: Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय — emphatic particle

• हनुमद्भक्तितत्पराः: devoted to devotion to Hanumān
• हनुमद्भक्तितत्पराः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hanumat-bhakti-tatpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; हनुमत् + भक्ति + तत्पर (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-श्रृङ्खला) — Masculine, Nominative plural

Speaker

Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brāhmaṇas in an āśrama perform daily svādhyāya; a small yajña fire burns as vaṣaṭ is uttered; a pitṛ-tarpaṇa scene suggests svadhā; in the background a shrine with Rāma and Hanumān, devotees offering flowers, Hanumān depicted as vigilant and compassionate.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Hanumān

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is holistic: learning (svādhyāya), sacrificial discipline (vaṣaṭ), ancestral reverence (svadhā), and bhakti to Rāma-Hanumān belong together.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the verse characterizes ideal religious conduct and devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular svādhyāya, proper yajña invocations (vaṣaṭ), and svadhā usage in ancestral offerings, coupled with devotional observance.