Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

ओषधीनां यथा सस्यं नगानां हेमपर्वतः । तथा त्वं सर्वदेवानामाधिपत्ये व्यवस्थितः

Transliteration

oṣadhīnāṃ yathā sasyaṃ nagānāṃ hemaparvataḥ | tathā tvaṃ sarvadevānāmādhipatye vyavasthitaḥ

Translation

As grain is foremost among plants, and the golden mountain among mountains, so are you established in sovereignty over all the gods.

Word by Word

• oṣadhīnām: of herbs/medicinal plants
• oṣadhīnām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṣadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• yathā: as, just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/उपमान-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक/तुलनार्थक (comparative particle: 'as')

• sasyam: grain/crop
• sasyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nagānām: of mountains
• nagānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• hemaparvataḥ: the Golden Mountain (Meru)
• hemaparvataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hema (प्रातिपदिक) + parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (hemasya parvataḥ)

• tathā: so, likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तद्वत्/एवम् (correlative: 'so, likewise')

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• sarvadevānām: of all the gods
• sarvadevānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (sarve devāḥ)

• ādhipatye: in sovereignty/lordship
• ādhipatye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādhipatya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• vyavasthitaḥ: established, firmly situated
• vyavasthitaḥ: Karta (Predicative to subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + ava + √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/क्तवत्-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (to tvam)

Speaker

Devāḥ (the gods)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva (sarvadevādhīśa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A courtly stuti scene: devas or sages praising the bull-bannered Lord, with emblematic comparisons (grain among herbs; golden mountain among mountains) visualized as symbolic vignettes around the central deity.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Hemaparvata (golden mountain)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The hymn uses ‘best-in-class’ analogies to affirm Śiva’s unmatched supremacy, preparing the listener for teachings on tīrtha merit and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not identified in this verse; it remains part of the introductory stuti within the Tīrthamāhātmya flow.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is purely laudatory.