Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

सत्यवादस्तपो नित्यं प्राणिनां भुवि दुर्लभम् । सुप्ते देवपतौ कुर्वन्ननंतफलभाग्भवेत्

Transliteration

satyavādastapo nityaṃ prāṇināṃ bhuvi durlabham | supte devapatau kurvannanaṃtaphalabhāgbhavet

Translation

Wahrhaftigkeit ist ein ständiges Tapas, unter den Wesen auf Erden selten. Wer sie übt, während der Herr der Götter im heiligen Schlaf weilt (während Cāturmāsya), wird Teilhaber endloser Früchte.

Word by Word

• satyavādaḥ: truth-speaking
• satyavādaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya + vāda (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (सत्यस्य वादः) (nominative singular)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (nominative singular)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसक-एकवचनम् (adverbial: ‘always’)

• prāṇinām: of living beings
• prāṇinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम् (genitive plural)

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम् (locative singular)

• durlabham: rare/difficult to obtain
• durlabham: Pradhana-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur + labha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (दुः + लभ) (nominative singular; predicate adjective)

• supte: when (he is) asleep
• supte: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: supta (√svap धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम् (locative singular)

• devapatau: in/when the Lord of the gods (is asleep)
• devapatau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + pati (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (देवानां पतिः) (locative singular)

• kurvan: doing (it)
• kurvan: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्तं वर्तमानकाले; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (present active participle: ‘doing’)

• anantaphalabhāk: a sharer of endless fruits
• anantaphalabhāk: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananta + phala + bhāj (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (अनन्तं फलं यस्य सः/अनन्तफलस्य भागी) (nominative singular)

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम् (may become)

Speaker

Brahmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee during monsoon months, hands folded before Hari, with a symbolic sleeping Viṣṇu (śayana) motif, while the devotee restrains speech and records truthful vows.

Characters & Entities

• Devapati (Lord of the gods)
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ethical integrity—especially truthfulness—is a high austerity; in sacred times its spiritual yield multiplies.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named; the verse highlights the sanctity of Cāturmāsya within the larger tīrtha-māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain satyavāda (truthfulness) as a vowed discipline, particularly during Cāturmāsya.