Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले च चमत्कारपुरोद्भवैः । ब्राह्मणैर्ब्रह्मविज्ञानतत्परैर्मोक्षहेतुभिः । ईशानः स्थापितस्तत्र मोक्षदो य उदाहृतः

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle ca camatkārapurodbhavaiḥ | brāhmaṇairbrahmavijñānatatparairmokṣahetubhiḥ | īśānaḥ sthāpitastatra mokṣado ya udāhṛtaḥ

Translation

En ce même temps, des brāhmaṇas nés à Camatkārapura—dévoués à la connaissance de Brahman et tendus vers la cause de la délivrance—y établirent Īśāna, proclamé dispensateur de mokṣa.

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• kāle: time
• kāle: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• camatkāra-purodbhavaiḥ: born in/coming from Camatkārapura
• camatkāra-purodbhavaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: camatkāra (प्रातिपदिक) + pura (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहुपद; ‘camatkārasya puraḥ udbhavaḥ’/‘camatkārapura-udbhava’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural adjective

• brāhmaṇaiḥ: by brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇaiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural

• brahma-vijñāna-tatparaiḥ: devoted to knowledge of Brahman
• brahma-vijñāna-tatparaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + vijñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + tatpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहुपद; ‘brahmavijñāne tatparāḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural adjective

• mokṣa-hetubhiḥ: (who are) causes of liberation
• mokṣa-hetubhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘mokṣasya hetuḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural adjective

• īśānaḥ: Īśāna (a form of Śiva)
• īśānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• sthāpitaḥ: was installed
• sthāpitaḥ: Kriyā (passive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था; धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘was installed’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• mokṣadaḥ: giver of liberation
• mokṣadaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘mokṣaṃ dadāti’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular (epithet)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Relative pronoun nominative singular

• udāhṛtaḥ: is declared/called
• udāhṛtaḥ: Kriyā (passive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-ā-√hṛ (हृ; धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘is said/declared’

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (deduced: a Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Camatkārapura

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ) addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brāhmaṇas of Camatkārapura—calm, ascetic, and learned—perform a solemn installation of Īśāna; the shrine radiates stillness, suggesting mokṣa rather than worldly gain.

Characters & Entities

• Camatkārapura
• Brāhmaṇas
• Īśāna (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation is supported by Brahman-knowledge and by establishing/worshipping Īśāna (Śiva) in a sanctified place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Camatkārapura is explicitly mentioned as the origin of the brāhmaṇas; the installation occurs at the kṣetra being praised in Adhyāya 142.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Installation (sthāpana) and worship of Īśāna as mokṣada is implied as a mokṣa-oriented practice.