Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु देवशर्मसुताऽभवत् । देवी नगरमध्यस्थां सर्वा नार्यो द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle tu devaśarmasutā'bhavat | devī nagaramadhyasthāṃ sarvā nāryo dvijottamāḥ

Translation

In eben jener Zeit erschien die Tochter Devaśarmans. Die Göttin stand inmitten der Stadt, und alle Frauen (sowie die edlen Zweimalgeborenen)…

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

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

• kāle: at the time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tu: but, then
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (contrastive particle)

• devaśarma-sutā: daughter of Devaśarman
• devaśarma-sutā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devaśarma (प्रातिपदिक) + sutā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (devaśarmaṇaḥ sutā)

• abhavat: became, came to be
• abhavat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• nagara-madhya-sthām: standing in the middle of the city
• nagara-madhya-sthām: Karma (Object/Complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nagara (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sthā)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म/विधेय), एकवचन; सप्तमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (नगरस्य मध्ये स्थिता)

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• nāryaḥ: women
• nāryaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• dvija-uttamāḥ: excellent Brahmins (best of the twice-born)
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-प्रायः (उत्तमाः द्विजाः)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration from the immediately preceding verse context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In the city’s central square, the Goddess stands revealed; simultaneously, Devaśarman’s daughter appears, while women and eminent twice-born gather, forming a crowd around the epiphany.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Devaśarman
• Devaśarmasutā (his daughter)
• Nagara (city)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine presence in the heart of human settlement sanctifies communal life, drawing society toward darśana and worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse situates the episode in a city setting within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha-glorification; the exact city/tīrtha name is not provided in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it sets the scene for communal approach and worship prompted by Devī’s appearance.