Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

विप्रो यथा मनुष्याणां नदीनां वा महार्णवः । तथा त्वं सर्वदेवानामाधिपत्ये व्यवस्थितः

Transliteration

vipro yathā manuṣyāṇāṃ nadīnāṃ vā mahārṇavaḥ | tathā tvaṃ sarvadevānāmādhipatye vyavasthitaḥ

Translation

Wie der Brāhmaṇa unter den Menschen der Vornehmste ist und wie der große Ozean unter den Flüssen der Vornehmste ist, so bist Du in der Herrschaft über alle Götter fest gegründet.

Word by Word

• विप्रः: a brāhmaṇa; learned priest
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यथा: as; just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparison marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (Comparative particle: as/like)

• मनुष्याणाम्: of humans
• मनुष्याणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• नदीनाम्: of rivers
• नदीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• वा: or/and
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (Disjunctive particle: or/and also)

• महार्णवः: the great ocean
• महार्णवः: Karta (Subject in second comparison/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: महा + अर्णव, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तथा: so; likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Correlation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तुल्यतावाचक-अव्यय (correlative: so/likewise)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन, सर्वनाम

• सर्वदेवानाम्: of all the gods
• सर्वदेवानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/समासार्थ: सर्वेषां देवानाम्, पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• आधिपत्ये: in sovereignty; in lordship
• आधिपत्ये: Adhikarana (Location/Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आधिपत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• व्यवस्थितः: established; firmly situated
• व्यवस्थितः: Kriya (Predicative state/क्रियासमाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + अव + स्था (धातु) → व्यवस्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे विशेषण (predicate adjective)

Speaker

Devāḥ (the gods)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic court: devas assembled with crowns lowered; Śiva enthroned or represented as a towering liṅga; below, symbolic vignettes—brāhmaṇa among people, ocean among rivers—illustrate the analogies.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Vipra (Brāhmaṇa)
• Mahārṇava (Ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mahādeva’s supremacy is affirmed through familiar analogies, teaching reverence for the highest divine authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; this verse supports the authority of the ensuing tīrtha-māhātmya by establishing Śiva’s supremacy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a stuti (praise) employing dharmic and natural analogies.