Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अथ चन्द्रोत्थहर्म्यस्य माहात्म्यं तद्द्विजोत्तमाः । ज्ञात्वा ब्रह्मादयो देवा भयसंत्रस्तमानसाः । तद्विघ्नार्थमिदं प्रोचुर्मेरुमूर्धानमाश्रिताः

Transliteration

atha candrotthaharmyasya māhātmyaṃ taddvijottamāḥ | jñātvā brahmādayo devā bhayasaṃtrastamānasāḥ | tadvighnārthamidaṃ procurmerumūrdhānamāśritāḥ

Translation

Entonces, oh el mejor de los dos veces nacidos, al conocer la grandeza de este santuario palaciego nacido de Candra, los dioses encabezados por Brahmā—con la mente sobrecogida de temor—dijeron este plan para obstaculizarlo, refugiados en la cumbre del Meru.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बोधन/अनन्तरार्थक (sequence marker)

• candrottha-harmyasya: of the Moon-origin palace
• candrottha-harmyasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃdra (प्रातिपदिक) + uttha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √sthā/utthā ‘arise’) + harmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (चन्द्रात् उत्पन्नं हर्म्यम्)

• māhātmyam: the greatness (glory)
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; refers to māhātmyam

• dvija-uttamāḥ: best of Brahmins
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (उत्तमाः द्विजाः)

• jñātvā: having known
• jñātvā: Kriya (Non-finite/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; having known

• brahmādayaḥ: Brahmā and others
• brahmādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मा आदिः येषाम्)

• devāḥ: gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• bhaya-saṃtrasta-mānasāḥ: whose minds were terrified by fear
• bhaya-saṃtrasta-mānasāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃtrasta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √tras ‘tremble’) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीह्यर्थे/तत्पुरुष-समासप्रायः: ‘भयेन संत्रस्तं मानसं येषाम्’

• tat-vighna-artham: for the purpose of obstructing that
• tat-vighna-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + vighna (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तस्य विघ्नस्य अर्थम् = for the purpose of obstructing that)

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• procuḥ: said/declared
• procuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• meru-mūrdhānam: the summit of Meru
• meru-mūrdhānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मेरोः मूर्धानम्)

• āśritāḥ: having taken refuge (resorting to)
• āśritāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + śri (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘having resorted to’

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Meru-śikhara (as narrative locus)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā and the devas gather on Meru’s luminous summit, faces tense with concern, speaking a plan to create obstacles against the rising fame of the Soma-born palace-shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Candra
• Brahmā
• Devas
• Meru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great dharmic merit can provoke cosmic tension in Purāṇic storytelling; obstacles test and highlight the exceptional power of a sacred act.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative centers on the glory of a Candra-related shrine (candrottha-harmya) within the tīrtha-māhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it sets up the mythic background explaining why the Candra-prāsāda practice becomes contested.