Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

स्नातकैर्यतिभिर्दान्तैस्तथा पंचाग्निसाधकैः । कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य भगवांस्त्रिपुरांतकः

Transliteration

snātakairyatibhirdāntaistathā paṃcāgnisādhakaiḥ | kasyacittvatha kālasya bhagavāṃstripurāṃtakaḥ

Translation

Le lieu était rempli de snātaka accomplis, de yatis maîtres d’eux-mêmes et de pratiquants de l’austérité des cinq feux; puis, après quelque temps, apparut le Bienheureux Tripurāntaka, destructeur des trois cités.

Word by Word

• स्नातकैः: by snātakas (graduates/ritualists)
• स्नातकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (masc instrumental plural)

• यतिभिः: by ascetics
• यतिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• दान्तैः: by the restrained
• दान्तैः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दान्त (प्रातिपदिक; √दम्-धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (self-controlled)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb: likewise)

• पञ्चाग्निसाधकैः: by practitioners of the five-fire austerity
• पञ्चाग्निसाधकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + साधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘पञ्चाग्नीन् साधयन्ति ये’ (performers of pañcāgni-tapas)

• कस्यचित्: of some
• कस्यचित्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun: of some)

• तु: then/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/अन्वय (particle: but/indeed)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Sequencer/अनन्तर)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, आरम्भ/अनन्तर (particle: then/now)

• कालस्य: of time
• कालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (masc genitive singular)

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (masc nominative singular)

• त्रिपुरान्तकः: Tripurāntaka (Śiva)
• त्रिपुरान्तकः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुर (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘त्रिपुरस्य अन्तकः’ (slayer of Tripura)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) — deductive attribution

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense assembly of snātakas, yatis, and pañcāgni practitioners; the atmosphere shifts—wind stills, light deepens—hinting at Tripurāntaka’s imminent appearance at the forest edge.

Characters & Entities

• Tripurāntaka (Śiva)
• Snātaka
• Yati
• Pañcāgni-sādhaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Where dharma is upheld by disciplined lives, the Lord’s presence becomes manifest in time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha-region described in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, portrayed as a seat of pañcāgni and renunciant practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcāgni-sādhana (austerity amid five fires), alongside the regulated life of snātakas and yatis.