Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

भजस्व विष्णुं द्विजवह्नितीर्थवेदप्रभेदमयमूर्तिमजं विराजम् । यत्प्रसादाद्भवति मोक्षमहातरुस्थस्तापं न यास्यति भवार्कसमुद्भवं तम्

Transliteration

bhajasva viṣṇuṃ dvijavahnitīrthavedaprabhedamayamūrtimajaṃ virājam | yatprasādādbhavati mokṣamahātarusthastāpaṃ na yāsyati bhavārkasamudbhavaṃ tam

Translation

Verehre Viṣṇu—den Ungeborenen, den Strahlenden—dessen Gestalt aus dem Dvija (Brāhmaṇa), den heiligen Feuern, den Tīrthas und den mannigfachen Gliederungen der Veden besteht. Durch Seine Gnade ruht man am großen Baum der Befreiung (mokṣa) und wird nicht vom Brand getroffen, der aus der Sonne des weltlichen Werdens (saṃsāra) aufsteigt.

Word by Word

• भजस्व: worship; resort to
• भजस्व: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भज् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• विष्णुम्: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• द्विजवह्नितीर्थवेदप्रभेदमयमूर्तिम्: whose form consists of (the essences/distinctions of) twice-born, fire, sacred fords, and Vedas
• द्विजवह्नितीर्थवेदप्रभेदमयमूर्तिम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विज + वह्नि + तीर्थ + वेद + प्रभेद + मय + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विष्णुम् इति विशेषण; समासः (मुख्यतः षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष-प्रधान): (द्विज-वह्नि-तीर्थ-वेद-प्रभेद)-मय-मूर्ति = ‘whose form is constituted of the distinctions of Brahmins, fire, tīrthas, and Vedas’

• अजम्: unborn
• अजम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विष्णुम् इति विशेषण

• विराजम्: resplendent
• विराजम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विराज् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विष्णुम् इति विशेषण

• यत्: whose
• यत्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• प्रसादात्: from (his) grace
• प्रसादात्: Apadana (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रसाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (source/cause)

• भवति: arises; happens; becomes
• भवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मोक्षमहातरुस्थः: standing in the great tree of liberation (i.e., established in mokṣa)
• मोक्षमहातरुस्थः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मोक्ष + महातरु + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; (अध्याहृतः) ‘(जनः)’ इति विशेषण; समासः: मोक्ष- महातरु-स्थ = ‘standing/abiding in the great tree of liberation’

• तापम्: affliction; heat; suffering
• तापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• न: not
• न: Kriya-nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• यास्यति: will go to; will attain
• यास्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भवार्कसमुद्भवम्: born from the sun of saṃsāra
• भवार्कसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भव + अर्क + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तापम् इति विशेषण; समासः: भव-अर्क-समुद्भव = ‘arisen from the sun of worldly existence’

• तम्: that (affliction)
• तम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तापम् इति विशेषणार्थे सर्वनाम

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not stated in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Cosmic Viṣṇu standing radiant: within His form appear Vedic śākhā symbols, sacrificial fires, tīrtha waters, and dvija sages; below, a devotee worships, while a ‘sun of saṃsāra’ is shown at a distance, its heat subdued by the shade of a great mokṣa-tree.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Veda
• tīrtha
• sacred fire

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Viṣṇu is presented as the very essence of Vedic revelation, sacred rites, and holy geography; devotion to Him culminates in mokṣa and freedom from saṃsāric suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises tīrtha in general (holy places as part of Viṣṇu’s embodied sacrality) rather than identifying a single named location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhajana/Upāsanā of Viṣṇu is prescribed as the central practice, integrating Vedic and tīrtha-based religiosity.