Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

संबोध्यमाना सततं सुस्त्रीणां चेष्टितेन च । एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु भगवांस्तीक्ष्णदीधितिः

Transliteration

saṃbodhyamānā satataṃ sustrīṇāṃ ceṣṭitena ca | etasminneva kāle tu bhagavāṃstīkṣṇadīdhitiḥ

Translation

Stets angesprochen und durch das Tun tugendhafter Frauen umsorgt, erschien just zu jener Zeit der Bhagavān, der scharfstrahlende (die Sonne), …

Word by Word

• संबोध्यमाना: being addressed / being spoken to
• संबोध्यमाना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + बुध् (धातु) → संबोध्यमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे शानच्-प्रत्ययान्तः वर्तमानकृदन्तः (Present passive participle)

• सततम्: constantly
• सततम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सतत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• सुस्त्रीणाम्: of good women
• सुस्त्रीणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (सु + स्त्री = good women)

• चेष्टितेन: by the conduct/behavior
• चेष्टितेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेष्टित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• काले: at the time
• काले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: but/then
• तु: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक-निपात (contrastive particle)

• भगवान्: the venerable one
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तीक्ष्णदीधितिः: sharp-rayed (one)/radiant
• तीक्ष्णदीधितिः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीक्ष्ण + दीधिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (तीक्ष्णा दीधितिः = sharp-rayed radiance; epithet)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual narration within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (implied by chapter context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Twilight in a sacred precinct: virtuous women stand in orderly devotion, addressing and attending the radiant Sun as he begins to descend; the yajña-space is being readied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Sāvitrī)
• Nāgara women
• Sūrya (Tīkṣṇadīdhiti)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha narratives weave cosmic rhythms (like the Sun’s movement) with devotional scenes to mark sacred time and place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing account is within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya (Nāgara-khaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; the verse is a narrative bridge introducing the Sun’s temporal marker.