Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

वासांसि भूषणानां च समूहान्हर्षयंति च । एतानि दक्षचिह्नानि द्वीपानि मुनिसत्तम

Transliteration

vāsāṃsi bhūṣaṇānāṃ ca samūhānharṣayaṃti ca | etāni dakṣacihnāni dvīpāni munisattama

Translation

Dort erfreuen auch Gewänder und Scharen von Schmuckstücken das Herz. Dies, o bester der Munis, sind die Kontinente, die mit den Emblemen Dakṣas (Dakṣa) gezeichnet und durch geordnete Zeichen ausgezeichnet sind.

Word by Word

• vāsāṃsi: garments
• vāsāṃsi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (neut nom/acc pl)

• bhūṣaṇānām: of ornaments
• bhūṣaṇānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (neut gen pl)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): च

• samūhān: collections/heaps
• samūhān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samūha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (masc acc pl)

• harṣayanti: they delight/gladden
• harṣayanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛṣ (हृष् धातु, causative)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग: ‘they gladden’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): च

• etāni: these
• etāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (neut nom/acc pl)

• dakṣa-cihnāni: bearing Dakṣa’s marks
• dakṣa-cihnāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + cihna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण: ‘marked by Dakṣa / having Dakṣa’s signs’

• dvīpāni: islands/continents
• dvīpāni: Apposition (Samanadhikarana/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (neut nom/acc pl)

• munisattama: O best sage
• munisattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (voc sg): ‘best of sages’

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative voice addressing a sage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munisattama (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic cosmographic tableau of multiple island-continents, each bearing distinct emblems of Dakṣa; pilgrims or sages observe signs, while garments and ornaments gleam as symbols of auspicious order.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• muni-sattama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic order is emphasized: realms are not random but ‘marked’ and distinguished—suggesting a universe governed by dharma and divine arrangement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse concludes a descriptive list of dvīpas characterized by distinguishing signs.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.