Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

एतस्मात्कारणात्तत्र क्षेत्रे पुण्ये द्विजोत्तमाः । हेरम्बो मर्त्यदो जातः स्वर्गिणां मर्त्यदः सदा

Transliteration

etasmātkāraṇāttatra kṣetre puṇye dvijottamāḥ | herambo martyado jātaḥ svargiṇāṃ martyadaḥ sadā

Translation

Pour cette raison, ô meilleurs des brāhmaṇas, dans ce kṣetra sacré, Heraṃba se manifesta sous le nom de « Martyada » — à jamais « Martyada » pour ceux qui ont atteint le ciel.

Word by Word

• etasmāt: from this
• etasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन — Ablative singular

• kāraṇāt: because of the reason
• kāraṇāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन — Ablative singular

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय

• kṣetre: in the sacred field
• kṣetre: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular

• puṇye: holy/meritorious
• puṇye: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular adjective (agreeing with kṣetre)

• dvijottamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvijottamāḥ: Sambodhyā/Addressed group
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘dvijānām uttamāḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural (address)

• herambaḥ: Heramba
• herambaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: heraṃba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• martyadaḥ: (as) Martyada
• martyadaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: martyada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘martyaṃ dadāti’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular (epithet)

• jātaḥ: was born/became
• jātaḥ: Kriyā (predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन्; धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘was born/has become’

• svargiṇām: of the heaven-goers
• svargiṇām: Sambandha (Possessor/Beneficiary group)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svargin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन — Genitive plural

• martyadaḥ: Martyada
• martyadaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martyada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘martyaṃ dadāti’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator addressing dvijottamāḥ (deduced: a Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṇya-kṣetra with Heraṃba-Martyada (Camatkārapura implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ (best of brāhmaṇas) addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: the holy kṣetra with its shrine; an inscription-like emphasis on the name ‘Martyada’; svargin devotees shown receiving assurance of continued auspicious destiny.

Characters & Entities

• Heraṃba
• Martyada

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy kṣetra is celebrated as spiritually potent, where the deity’s specific form-name embodies a concrete salvific function.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse explicitly praises a ‘puṇya kṣetra’ in Nāgarakhaṇḍa (Adhyāya 142); the excerpt does not supply the kṣetra’s proper name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit instruction: approach and worship Heraṃba/Martyada at this puṇya-kṣetra for protection regarding post-svarga destiny.