Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

अन्यत्रापि स्थितो मर्त्यो मंत्रमेतं त्रिरक्षरम् । यः स्मरिष्यति संसुप्तो न हिंस्यः स्यादहेर्हि सः

Transliteration

anyatrāpi sthito martyo maṃtrametaṃ trirakṣaram | yaḥ smariṣyati saṃsupto na hiṃsyaḥ syādaherhi saḥ

Translation

Selbst wenn ein Sterblicher anderswo weilt: Wer diese dreisilbige Mantra erinnert, selbst im Schlaf, wird von keiner Schlange verletzt werden.

Word by Word

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb of place: 'elsewhere')

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कारक (also/even)

• sthitaḥ: situated, being
• sthitaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle used adjectivally); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; martyaḥ इति विशेषण

• martyaḥ: a mortal man
• martyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• maṃtram: the mantra
• maṃtram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṃtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• etam: this
• etam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; संकेतवाचक सर्वनाम; maṃtram इति विशेषण

• tri-akṣaram: three-syllabled
• tri-akṣaram: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास: त्रयः अक्षराः यस्य (three-syllabled); maṃtram इति विशेषण

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• smariṣyati: will remember
• smariṣyati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• saṃsuptaḥ: asleep
• saṃsuptaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-√svap (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; yaḥ इति विशेषण (even if asleep)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• hiṃsyaḥ: to be harmed / harmable
• hiṃsyaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृविधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √hiṃs (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive: 'to be harmed'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• syāt: would be
• syāt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• aheḥ: of a snake
• aheḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ (particle: 'indeed/for')

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; संकेतवाचक सर्वनाम

Speaker

Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāgara (tri-akṣara mantra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A traveler sleeps under a tree on a pilgrimage road; a serpent approaches but halts as a luminous syllabic aura (three seed-like letters) surrounds the sleeper, turning the snake away.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Serpent (ahi)
• Mantra (trirakṣara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Constant remembrance of Śiva’s mantra is taught as a shield—so potent that even unconscious recollection (in sleep) grants protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching appears within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra account in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Smaraṇa (mental recollection) of the trirakṣara-mantra is prescribed as a protective practice.