Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ध्यायमानो दिवानक्तं देवदेवं पितामहम् । वायुभक्षस्ततो जज्ञे तावत्कालं द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

dhyāyamāno divānaktaṃ devadevaṃ pitāmaham | vāyubhakṣastato jajñe tāvatkālaṃ dvijottamāḥ

Translation

Tag und Nacht versunken in Meditation über Pitāmaha, den Gott der Götter, wurde er dann für jene Zeit zu einem, der „von Luft lebt“, o Bester der Zweimalgeborenen.

Word by Word

• ध्यायमानः: meditating
• ध्यायमानः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु) + शानच् (प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्तः (शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त), परस्मैपदी धातु; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण

• दिवा: by day
• दिवा: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिवा (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• नक्तम्: by night
• नक्तम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नक्तम् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• देवदेवम्: the god of gods
• देवदेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां देवः); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• पितामहम्: the grandsire (Brahmā)
• पितामहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• वायुभक्षः: air-eating (living on air)
• वायुभक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वायु (प्रातिपदिक) + भक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वायोः भक्षः = वायुभक्षः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Context/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/हेतुवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (then/thereupon)

• जज्ञे: was born / came into being
• जज्ञे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदी

• तावत्: for that much (duration)
• तावत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक (so much/for that extent)

• कालम्: time (duration)
• कालम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणे (accusative of duration)

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः (उत्तमाः द्विजाः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रयुक्तं (vocative-sense address)

Speaker

Narrator addressing dvijas (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone ascetic (Andhaka) seated in unwavering meditation, day and night, emaciated yet radiant, sustained only by breath; the landscape hints at a sacred grove/riverbank tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Andhaka
• Dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unbroken remembrance of the divine, joined to extreme restraint, is portrayed as the height of tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this line; the glorificatory frame is the Tīrthamāhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Continuous meditation (divānakta-dhyāna) and severe fasting/restraint (vāyubhakṣa) are described.