Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

ततः कालेन महता वल्मीकेन समावृतः । समंताद्ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठा ध्यानस्थस्य महात्मनः

Transliteration

tataḥ kālena mahatā valmīkena samāvṛtaḥ | samaṃtādbrāhmaṇaśreṣṭhā dhyānasthasya mahātmanaḥ

Translation

Puis, après un très long temps—ô le meilleur des brāhmanes—il fut recouvert de toutes parts par une termitière, tandis que ce grand être demeurait absorbé dans la méditation.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तदर्थे अव्ययम् (adverb: ‘thereafter/from that time’)

• कालेन: by time
• कालेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन

• महता: great (long)
• महता: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘कालेन’

• वल्मीकेन: by an anthill
• वल्मीकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वल्मीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन

• समावृतः: was covered/encased
• समावृतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-√वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• समन्तात्: on all sides
• समन्तात्: Desha/Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्तात् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; दिशावाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb: ‘on all sides’)

• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: the best of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘ब्राह्मणानां श्रेष्ठाः’)

• ध्यानस्थस्य: of (him) seated in meditation
• ध्यानस्थस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्यान + स्थ (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषसमासः (‘ध्यानस्थः’ = ध्यान-स्थितः), तस्य षष्ठी

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within the Purāṇic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇaśreṣṭha (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone ascetic seated in padmāsana, eyes half-closed, nearly engulfed by a large anthill rising around his torso; forest floor, dry leaves, faint shafts of light; distant silhouettes of a pilgrimage path.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When practice becomes profound, time and bodily concerns fade—symbolizing total absorption and the purifying power of dhyāna within Purāṇic dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the chapter’s tīrtha-mahātmya storyline; this line itself does not specify a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is introduced; it depicts the result of sustained meditation and mantra practice over a long duration.