Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले च चमत्कारपुरोद्भवैः । ब्राह्मणैर्ब्रह्मविज्ञानतत्परैर्मोक्षहेतुभिः । ईशानः स्थापितस्तत्र मोक्षदो य उदाहृतः

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle ca camatkārapurodbhavaiḥ | brāhmaṇairbrahmavijñānatatparairmokṣahetubhiḥ | īśānaḥ sthāpitastatra mokṣado ya udāhṛtaḥ

Translation

Zu eben jener Zeit errichteten dort Brāhmaṇas aus Camatkārapura—dem Wissen um Brahman hingegeben und auf die Ursache der Befreiung ausgerichtet—Īśāna, der als Spender von Mokṣa verkündet wird.

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• kāle: time
• kāle: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• camatkāra-purodbhavaiḥ: born in/coming from Camatkārapura
• camatkāra-purodbhavaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: camatkāra (प्रातिपदिक) + pura (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहुपद; ‘camatkārasya puraḥ udbhavaḥ’/‘camatkārapura-udbhava’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural adjective

• brāhmaṇaiḥ: by brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇaiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural

• brahma-vijñāna-tatparaiḥ: devoted to knowledge of Brahman
• brahma-vijñāna-tatparaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + vijñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + tatpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहुपद; ‘brahmavijñāne tatparāḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural adjective

• mokṣa-hetubhiḥ: (who are) causes of liberation
• mokṣa-hetubhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘mokṣasya hetuḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural adjective

• īśānaḥ: Īśāna (a form of Śiva)
• īśānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• sthāpitaḥ: was installed
• sthāpitaḥ: Kriyā (passive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था; धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘was installed’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• mokṣadaḥ: giver of liberation
• mokṣadaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘mokṣaṃ dadāti’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular (epithet)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Relative pronoun nominative singular

• udāhṛtaḥ: is declared/called
• udāhṛtaḥ: Kriyā (passive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-ā-√hṛ (हृ; धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘is said/declared’

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (deduced: a Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Camatkārapura

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ) addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brāhmaṇas of Camatkārapura—calm, ascetic, and learned—perform a solemn installation of Īśāna; the shrine radiates stillness, suggesting mokṣa rather than worldly gain.

Characters & Entities

• Camatkārapura
• Brāhmaṇas
• Īśāna (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation is supported by Brahman-knowledge and by establishing/worshipping Īśāna (Śiva) in a sanctified place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Camatkārapura is explicitly mentioned as the origin of the brāhmaṇas; the installation occurs at the kṣetra being praised in Adhyāya 142.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Installation (sthāpana) and worship of Īśāna as mokṣada is implied as a mokṣa-oriented practice.