Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा यमस्य प्रपितामहः । प्राह पार्श्वस्थितं शक्रं तत्तीर्थं नय संक्षयम्

Transliteration

tasya tadvacanaṃ śrutvā yamasya prapitāmahaḥ | prāha pārśvasthitaṃ śakraṃ tattīrthaṃ naya saṃkṣayam

Translation

Als er die Worte Yamas vernommen hatte, sprach dessen ehrwürdiger Ahnherr zu Śakra, der nahebei stand: „Führe jene Tīrtha der Vernichtung zu, bis sie ganz zugrunde geht.“

Word by Word

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tat-vacanam: that statement
• tat-vacanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः — ‘तत् वचनम्’

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śru (श्रु) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund) — ‘having heard’

• yamasya: of Yama
• yamasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prapitāmahaḥ: the great-grandfather (Brahmā)
• prapitāmahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prapitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prāha: said
• prāha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āh (अह्/ब्रू) (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• pārśva-sthitam: standing at (his) side
• pārśva-sthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक) + sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘पार्श्वे स्थितम्’

• śakram: Śakra (Indra)
• śakram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tat-tīrtham: that tīrtha
• tat-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः

• naya: lead, take
• naya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (नी) (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• saṃkṣayam: to destruction/ruin
• saṃkṣayam: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (reports Brahmā’s instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata Mahātīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, composed yet authoritative, turns to Indra standing at his side and issues the command to bring the tīrtha to ‘saṃkṣaya’; Indra bows, ready to act; the tīrtha’s radiance flickers in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Brahmā
• Śakra
• Indra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine powers may attempt to limit a tīrtha’s overwhelming grace, highlighting the extraordinary status of sacred places in Purāṇic dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter’s famed tīrtha connected with the Sārasvata-hrada and the sacred Citraśilā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates a mythic command that leads to the site’s physical alteration.