Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे प्राप्तो देवशर्मा द्विजोत्तमाः । गंधर्वः पर्वतो जातः स्वपत्न्या सहितस्तदा

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare prāpto devaśarmā dvijottamāḥ | gaṃdharvaḥ parvato jātaḥ svapatnyā sahitastadā

Translation

Unterdessen traf Devaśarmā ein, der Beste unter den Zweimalgeborenen. Zur selben Zeit war auch der Gandharva namens Parvata anwesend, zusammen mit seiner Gattin.

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; demonstrative qualifying ‘अन्तरे’

• अन्तरे: in the meantime
• अन्तरे: Adhikaraṇa (Time/Occasion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘in the interval/meanwhile’

• प्राप्तः: arrived
• प्राप्तः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; भूतकृदन्तः (past participle) used predicatively

• देवशर्मा: Devaśarman
• देवशर्मा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवशर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born / the best Brahmins
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Sambodhana/Viśeṣaṇa (Address/Qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘best of the twice-born’). (पाठे बहुवचनम्; अर्थतः संबोधन/विशेषणरूपेण अपि सम्भवति)

• गन्धर्वः: a Gandharva
• गन्धर्वः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• पर्वतः: a mountain
• पर्वतः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• जातः: became / was born as
• जातः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; भूतकृदन्तः (past participle) ‘born/become’

• स्वपत्न्या: with his wife
• स्वपत्न्या: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (‘own wife’), instrumental ‘with (his) wife’

• सहितः: accompanied
• सहितः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सह (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + इ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त) / ‘सहित’ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘accompanied’ (with + तृतीया)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्ययम् (then)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (narrative voice of the māhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A distinguished brahmin traveler arrives at the sacred place; nearby stands the Gandharva Parvata with his wife, suggesting a liminal meeting of worlds at a tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Devaśarmā
• Parvata (Gandharva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred-place narratives often turn on the arrival of dharmic persons; their presence triggers revelations of a site’s hidden spiritual history.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting remains the Nāgarakhaṇḍa sacred city-region; this verse introduces characters relevant to its māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is narrative scene-setting.