Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

शरीरे सकला देवा योगिनो निवसंति हि । कर्णे तु दक्षिणे नद्यो निवसंति तथाऽपराः

Transliteration

śarīre sakalā devā yogino nivasaṃti hi | karṇe tu dakṣiṇe nadyo nivasaṃti tathā'parāḥ

Translation

Wahrlich, alle Götter und Yogis wohnen im Körper. Im rechten Ohr, ebenso, sollen die Flüsse und andere heilige Strömungen verweilen.

Word by Word

• शरीरे: in the body
• शरीरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सकलाः: all
• सकलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन—“all/entire” (देवाः इति विशेषण)

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• योगिनः: yogins
• योगिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; देवाः इत्यस्य विशेषण/अप्पोज़िशन—“yogins”

• निवसन्ति: dwell
• निवसन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-वास् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदी

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थक

• कर्णे: in the ear
• कर्णे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तु: but/and
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• दक्षिणे: right
• दक्षिणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन—“in the right (ear)” (कर्णे इति विशेषण)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• निवसन्ति: dwell
• निवसन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-वास् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदी

• तथा: thus/likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb)

• अपराः: other
• अपराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन—“others” (नद्यः इति विशेषण)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Deha-tīrtha (Śarīra as tīrtha); Karṇa-nadī-ādhāra (right ear as river-seat)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogin seated in meditation; within a translucent body-map, devas and ṛṣis dwell in organs; from the right ear flow stylized river-streams labeled as sacred currents.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Yogins
• Rivers (Nadyaḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is not only external: the body itself is a sacred landscape where divine forces and tīrthas abide.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse glorifies the ‘antar-tīrtha’ model—rivers and sacred presences located within bodily centers (here, the right ear).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it supports contemplative reverence for the body as a tīrtha-field in yogic practice.