Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

यम उवाच । तीर्थयात्रापरो नित्यं देवतातिथिपूजकः । ब्रह्मण्यश्च शरण्यश्च न याति नरकं नरः

Transliteration

yama uvāca | tīrthayātrāparo nityaṃ devatātithipūjakaḥ | brahmaṇyaśca śaraṇyaśca na yāti narakaṃ naraḥ

Translation

Yama sprach: „Wer stets der Pilgerfahrt zu den Tīrthas hingegeben ist, die Gottheiten verehrt und den Gast ehrt, Brahman und die Brāhmaṇas achtet und anderen Zuflucht gewährt—der Mensch geht nicht zur Hölle.“

Word by Word

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• तीर्थयात्रापरः: devoted to pilgrimage to sacred places
• तीर्थयात्रापरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थयात्रा (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तीर्थयात्रायां परः = devoted to pilgrimage)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• देवताऽतिथिपूजकः: worshipper of deities and guests
• देवताऽतिथिपूजकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + अतिथि (प्रातिपदिक) + पूजक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (देवताः च अतिथयः च तेषां पूजकः = worshipper of deities and guests)

• ब्रह्मण्यः: devoted to Brahmins/Brahman (pious)
• ब्रह्मण्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• शरण्यः: a refuge-giver; worthy of refuge
• शरण्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• याति: goes
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• नरकम्: hell
• नरकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Yama

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A brāhmaṇa interlocutor (implied by adjacent address patterns in the passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama, the lord of dharma, speaks a calm injunction: a pilgrim with folded hands offers flowers to a deity, welcomes a guest with water and seat, and shelters a frightened traveler—while the shadow of hell recedes.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Tīrthayātrā
• Devatā
• Atithi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular tīrtha-yātrā, reverence to gods, hospitality to guests, and protecting sacred dharma form a life that avoids the downward pull of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the verse praises tīrthayātrā in general as a dharmic discipline celebrated throughout the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Practice pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā), worship deities (devatā-pūjā), and honor guests (atithi-pūjā) as ongoing disciplines.