Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

पुण्याः कथा वरारोहे देवर्षीणां कृतास्तथा । आश्रयाः सन्मुनींद्राणां देवानां च तथा प्रिये

Transliteration

puṇyāḥ kathā varārohe devarṣīṇāṃ kṛtāstathā | āśrayāḥ sanmunīṃdrāṇāṃ devānāṃ ca tathā priye

Translation

Ô toi aux hanches gracieuses, les récits saints et méritoires—surtout ceux composés par les devarṣi—sont eux aussi des tīrtha. De même, les demeures et refuges des saints seigneurs des munis, ainsi que ceux des dieux, ô bien-aimée.

Word by Word

• puṇyāḥ: holy; meritorious
• puṇyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kathāḥ)

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

• varārohe: O fair-hipped lady
• varārohe: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varārohā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• devarṣīṇām: of divine sages
• devarṣīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (devaś ca ṛṣiś ca → devarṣi)

• kṛtāḥ: made; composed
• kṛtāḥ: Pradhāna (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle)

• tathā: thus; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय

• āśrayāḥ: refuges; abodes; supports
• āśrayāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• sanmunīndrāṇām: of the best among holy sages
• sanmunīndrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + muni (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (sat-munīnām indraḥ → sanmunīndra, 'lord among good sages')

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• tathā: also; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय

• priye: O dear one
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kathā-tīrtha; Muni-āśraya-tīrtha; Deva-sannidhi-tīrtha (conceptual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Varārohe (Devī/Pārvatī implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara declares that sacred stories authored by divine seers, and the refuges of great sages and gods, are themselves tīrthas; imagery shifts to a kathā assembly and to radiant hermitages/temples.

Characters & Entities

• devarṣi
• muni
• deva
• puṇya-kathā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy discourse and sacred storytelling—rooted in seer-tradition—purify like pilgrimage, and so do sanctified abodes of sages and deities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a single named tīrtha; the verse honors ‘āśrayas’—recognized sanctuaries of sages and gods—broadly within Purāṇic sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Engaging with puṇya-kathā (hearing/reciting sacred narratives) is implied as a purificatory practice.