Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 103

Devanagari script

अस्ति माहिष्मतीनाम नगरी नर्मदातटे । सा चास्माकं राजधानी पितृपर्यागता विभो

Transliteration

asti māhiṣmatīnāma nagarī narmadātaṭe | sā cāsmākaṃ rājadhānī pitṛparyāgatā vibho

Translation

„Es gibt eine Stadt namens Māhiṣmatī am Ufer der Narmadā. Sie ist meine Hauptstadt, o Ehrwürdiger, im Geschlecht meiner Vorfahren ererbt.“

Word by Word

• अस्ति: there is / exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• माहिष्मती: Māhiṣmatī (name of a city)
• माहिष्मती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहिष्मती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामन्/नाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), नाम-शब्दः (quotative/‘by name’)

• नगरी: a city
• नगरी: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नगरī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• नर्मदा-तटे: on the bank of the Narmadā
• नर्मदा-तटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक) + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); नर्मदायाः तटः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• सा: she/that (city)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• अस्माकम्: of us / our
• अस्माकम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• राजधानी: capital (city)
• राजधानी: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजधानी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• पितृ-पर्यागता: visited by the ancestors / reached by forefathers
• पितृ-पर्यागता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + परि-आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); पितॄन् पर्यागता इति कर्म-सम्बन्धः (object-related)

• विभो: O mighty one
• विभो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Nṛpati (the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā-tīra at Māhiṣmatī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/saints in the Naimiṣa setting (typical Skanda Purāṇa frame; not explicit in this verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic riverbank of the Narmadā with the fortified city of Māhiṣmatī rising behind ghāṭas; banners, palace silhouettes, and a narrator-figure indicating ancestral inheritance.

Characters & Entities

• Māhiṣmatī
• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustained through continuity—lineage, rightful rule, and reverence for sacred rivers and holy places.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative links Nāgahrada’s merit with the broader sacred geography of the Narmadā region, mentioning Māhiṣmatī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it provides geographical and dynastic context for the king’s forthcoming offer.