Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

ये ब्राह्मणमते नित्यं ये च ब्राह्मणपूजकाः । अहं च शक्त्या नियतस्तीर्थानि विचरन्ननु

Transliteration

ye brāhmaṇamate nityaṃ ye ca brāhmaṇapūjakāḥ | ahaṃ ca śaktyā niyatastīrthāni vicarannanu

Translation

Die, welche stets dem Rat der Brāhmaṇas folgen, und die, welche die Brāhmaṇas durch Verehrung ehren—auch ich wandere, soweit es meine Kraft erlaubt, unablässig unter den heiligen Tīrthas umher…

Word by Word

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; relative pronoun

• brāhmaṇa-mate: in the Brahmins’ doctrine/opinion
• brāhmaṇa-mate: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + mata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘in the opinion/teaching of Brahmins’

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव/क्रियाविशेषणवत् नपुंसक-एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययवत् (adverb)

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; relative pronoun (repeated)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• brāhmaṇa-pūjakāḥ: worshippers of Brahmins
• brāhmaṇa-pūjakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pūjaka (प्रातिपदिक) < √pūj (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘worshippers of Brahmins’

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• śaktyā: by (my) power/ability
• śaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• niyataḥ: restrained, resolved
• niyataḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyata (प्रातिपदिक) < √yam (धातु) + ni + kta
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) used adjectivally; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• tīrthāni: sacred places, pilgrim-fords
• tīrthāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• vicaran: wandering
• vicaran: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√car (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘wandering’ (agreeing with aham understood)

• anu: along, following
• anu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग/अव्यय (postposition-like particle; ‘along/after’)

Speaker

Phālguna (Arjuna)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: tīrthāni (collective)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Arjuna speaking with humility: offering respect to brāhmaṇas; in the background, a pilgrim’s road with tīrtha markers—river steps, shrines, and travelers.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Phālguna (Arjuna)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence to Brāhmaṇas and disciplined pilgrimage are presented as pillars of dharmic life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse speaks generally of roaming among pilgrimage places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Honoring (pūjā) of Brāhmaṇas and undertaking tīrtha-yātrā according to one’s capacity.