Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

पद्मासनं विधायाथ न्यस्यात्मानं तथात्मनि । ब्रह्मद्वारेण तं पश्चात्तेजोरूपं व्यसर्जयत्

Transliteration

padmāsanaṃ vidhāyātha nyasyātmānaṃ tathātmani | brahmadvāreṇa taṃ paścāttejorūpaṃ vyasarjayat

Translation

Alors, prenant le padmāsana et établissant le soi dans le Soi, il laissa ensuite s’échapper ce souffle de vie rayonnant par la porte de Brahmā (au sommet du crâne).

Word by Word

• padma-āsanam: lotus posture
• padma-āsanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (पद्म) + āsana (आसन)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘lotus’ + ‘seat/posture’ = ‘lotus-posture’

• vidhāya: having assumed/made
• vidhāya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vi-dhā (वि+धा-धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्/क्त्वार्थ) ‘having arranged/assumed’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अथ)
• Form: Particle (निपात) ‘then’

• nyasya: having placed
• nyasya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni-as (नि+अस्/न्यस्-धातु, ‘to place’)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्/क्त्वार्थ) ‘having placed’

• ātmānam: himself / the self
• ātmānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (आत्मन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (तथा)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय) ‘thus/so’

• ātmani: in the self
• ātmani: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (आत्मन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• brahma-dvāreṇa: through the Brahma-gate
• brahma-dvāreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (ब्रह्मन्) + dvāra (द्वार)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘of Brahman’ + ‘gate/door’

• tam: that (it/him)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Kāla-viśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (पश्चात्)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय) ‘afterwards’

• tejo-rūpam: the form of light
• tejo-rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (तेजस्) + rūpa (रूप)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘of light/energy’ + ‘form’

• vyasarjayat: he released/sent forth
• vyasarjayat: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-sṛj (वि+सृज्-धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta to the sages in a Māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a quiet riverbank, the yogin sits in padmāsana, spine erect, eyes half-closed; a subtle column of light rises from the crown as the life-breath departs as radiant tejas.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmaṇa
• Brahmadvāra (Brahmarandhra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma honors disciplined yogic composure—posture, inner fixation, and conscious departure—as a noble end aligned with liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The act occurs at the Sarayū tīrtha context (from the surrounding verses), implying the riverbank as a liberation-conducive sacred space.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yogic procedure: sitting in padmāsana, internalizing the self, and releasing prāṇa through the brahmarandhra (Brahma-door).