Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

यथायथा कथास्तत्र प्रजायन्ते सभातले । देवद्विजनरेन्द्राणां धर्माख्यानानि कुंभज

Transliteration

yathāyathā kathāstatra prajāyante sabhātale | devadvijanarendrāṇāṃ dharmākhyānāni kuṃbhaja

Translation

Ô Kumbhaja, à mesure que naissaient sur le sol de l’assemblée diverses discussions, on y récitait des récits de dharma concernant les dieux, les brahmanes et les rois.

Word by Word

• yathā-yathā: as and as / whenever
• yathā-yathā: Sambandha (Correlative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पुनरुक्त-प्रयोगः) = correlatival adverb ‘as...so/whenever’

• kathāḥ: stories, discussions
• kathāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/स्थान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• prajāyante: arise, come into being
• prajāyante: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• sabhā-tale: on the floor/ground of the assembly
• sabhā-tale: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sabhā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘सभायाः तलम्’ (assembly-floor)

• deva-dvija-narendrāṇām: of gods, brahmins, and kings
• deva-dvija-narendrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + nara-indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (देवाः च द्विजाः च नरेंद्राः च) तेषाम्

• dharma-ākhyānāni: accounts/narratives of dharma
• dharma-ākhyānāni: Karta (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘धर्मस्य आख्यानानि’

• kuṃbhaja: O Kumbhaja (Agastya)
• kuṃbhaja: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṃbhaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; ‘कुम्भज’ = ‘jar-born’ (अगस्त्य)

Speaker

Narrator addressing Agastya (Kumbhaja)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kumbhaja (Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene celestial assembly where sages and gods engage in measured discourse; the narrator listens quietly as dharma accounts unfold concerning devas, Brahmins, and kings.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is multi-layered—governing divine, priestly, and royal spheres—and is taught through sacred narrative in assembly settings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not specify a location; it frames the discourse within the broader Tīrthamāhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it introduces dharma-expositions (dharmākhyāna).