Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

ततश्च सर्वदेवानां समादाय तिलंतिलम् । रूपं च निर्ममे पश्चादत्याश्चर्यमयीं च ताम्

Transliteration

tataśca sarvadevānāṃ samādāya tilaṃtilam | rūpaṃ ca nirmame paścādatyāścaryamayīṃ ca tām

Translation

Dann nahm er von allen Göttern von jedem einen winzigen Anteil—„so klein wie ein Sesamkorn“—und formte daraus ihre Schönheit; danach erschuf er sie als ein Wesen voll staunenswerter Wunder.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'thereupon/then'

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

• sarva-devānām: of all the gods
• sarva-devānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक) + deva (देव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन — 'of all the gods'

• samādāya: having gathered/taken
• samādāya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√dā (दा/डादाने धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव — 'having taken/collected'

• tilam: sesame (seed)
• tilam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (तिल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — object of samādāya

• tilam: sesame (each sesame)
• tilam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (तिल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — repetition for distributive sense (tilaṃ tilaṃ)

• rūpam: a form
• rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (रूप-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — object of nirmame

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

• nirmame: (he) fashioned/created
• nirmame: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-√mā (मा/माने-निर्माणे धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — 'he made/formed'

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/क्रमवाचक) — 'afterwards'

• ati-āścarya-mayīm: most wondrous
• ati-āścarya-mayīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अति-उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + āścarya (आश्चर्य-प्रातिपदिक) + maya (मय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — विशेषण of tām; 'consisting of great wonder'

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

• tām: that (her/that one)
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — object/apposition with rūpam

Speaker

Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā (or a divine artisan under his will) gathers minute ‘sesame-seed’ portions of radiance/beauty from the assembled devas and fashions a wondrous goddess/maiden, her form shimmering with many hues and attributes.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Perfection is depicted as a harmony of divine qualities; what appears as worldly beauty is traced to sacred, shared sources.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Rūpa-tīrtha, via the origin of extraordinary ‘rūpa’ tied to the site’s power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.