Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

वेदाध्ययनसंपन्नान्व्रतनिष्ठापरायणान् । एके तत्र कथाश्चक्रुः सुपुण्या ब्राह्मणोत्तमाः

Transliteration

vedādhyayanasaṃpannānvrataniṣṭhāparāyaṇān | eke tatra kathāścakruḥ supuṇyā brāhmaṇottamāḥ

Translation

Sie waren vollendet im Studium der Veden und ganz der Einhaltung der Gelübde hingegeben. Dort begannen einige höchst verdienstvolle, erhabene Brahmanen heilige Gespräche.

Word by Word

• veda-adhyayana-sampannān: accomplished in Vedic study
• veda-adhyayana-sampannān: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + adhyayana (प्रातिपदिक) + sampanna (कृदन्त; सम्-√pad + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (वेदाध्ययने संपन्नाः) (Masculine, Accusative, Plural; 'endowed with Veda-study')

• vrata-niṣṭhā-parāyaṇān: devoted to vow-observance
• vrata-niṣṭhā-parāyaṇān: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (व्रतनिष्ठायां परायणाः) (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• eke: some (of them)
• eke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb)

• kathāḥ: stories/discourses
• kathāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम् (Feminine, Accusative, Plural)

• cakruḥ: made/told
• cakruḥ: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (3rd person plural)

• supuṇyāḥ: very virtuous
• supuṇyāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-puṇya (प्रातिपदिक; सु + पुण्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; 'very meritorious')

• brāhmaṇa-uttamāḥ: excellent brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇa-uttamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थः (best brāhmaṇas) (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Māhātmya (exact speaker not stated in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākāla-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of venerable brāhmaṇas—some reciting, some debating gently—conduct sacred discussions in the temple mandapa; the king listens respectfully, with Mahākāla’s shrine in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Veda
• Vrata (vows)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Learning joined with disciplined vows becomes luminous in a tīrtha setting and expresses itself as dhārmic discourse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scene continues at Mahākāla’s sacred precinct (‘there’), emphasizing tīrtha as a hub of Vedic culture.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vrata-niṣṭhā—steadfast adherence to religious vows—is praised as a defining quality of the holy assembly.