Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मचारियतिभ्यां च सेविता मोक्षदायिनी । एतेषां सर्ववृक्षाणां छेदनं नैव कारयेत्

Transliteration

brahmacāriyatibhyāṃ ca sevitā mokṣadāyinī | eteṣāṃ sarvavṛkṣāṇāṃ chedanaṃ naiva kārayet

Translation

Wird ihr auch von Brahmacārins und Entsagenden (Yatis) gedient, wird sie zur Spenderin von Mokṣa, der Befreiung. Darum soll man niemals das Fällen irgendeines dieser heiligen Bäume veranlassen.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मचारि-यतिभ्याम्: by a brahmacārin and a yati (ascetic)
• ब्रह्मचारि-यतिभ्याम्: Karana (Agent/means in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समासः (copulative): ब्रह्मचारिणौ च यतयः च; तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental/3rd), द्विवचनम् (dual)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• सेविता: is served/worshipped
• सेविता: Kriya (Predicate in passive sense/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सेवित (कृदन्त; √सेव्)
• Form: भूतकृत्-प्रत्ययान्तः (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; मोक्षदायिनी इति विशेष्य/समनाधिकरणम्

• मोक्षदायिनी: liberation-giving
• मोक्षदायिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + दायिनी (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक from √दा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः: मोक्षं ददाति इति (giver of liberation)

• एतेषाम्: of these
• एतेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), बहुवचनम्

• सर्ववृक्षाणाम्: of all trees
• सर्ववृक्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; समासः: सर्वे वृक्षाः (all trees)

• छेदनम्: cutting/felling
• छेदनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छेदन (प्रातिपदिक; from √छिद्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation)

• एव: indeed/at all
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle: indeed/only)

• कारयेत्: should not cause (it) to be done
• कारयेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular), परस्मैपदम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative): ‘should cause to be done’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brahmacārin and a yati (renunciant) respectfully tending sacred trees; an axe set aside or broken to symbolize the prohibition of cutting; a serene forest-ashram setting.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmacārin
• Yati (renunciant)
• Sacred trees

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Protection of sacred life (non-harm to revered trees) is integral to dharma and is linked to liberation-oriented devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘site’ is the sanctified grove/tree context within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha narrative, emphasizing sacred ecology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not cut these sacred trees; instead, serve them—an observance suitable for students and renunciants as well.