Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ततश्चानाययामास विप्रांश्चैव विचक्षणान् । श्रुताध्ययनसंपन्नान्यज्ञकर्मपरायणान्

Transliteration

tataścānāyayāmāsa viprāṃścaiva vicakṣaṇān | śrutādhyayanasaṃpannānyajñakarmaparāyaṇān

Translation

Alors il fit venir des brāhmanes instruits et clairvoyants, accomplis dans l’écoute et l’étude des Écritures, et voués aux devoirs du sacrifice et des rites.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: 'ततः' (thereafter/from there)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात) = conjunction/particle

• ānāyayāmāsa: brought (caused to come)
• ānāyayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√nī (नी) (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद) = Perfect; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); causative sense not intended; 'आनाययामास' = he caused to be brought/ he brought (periphrastic perfect)

• viprān: brahmins
• viprān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन (plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात) = conjunction

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

• vicakṣaṇān: discerning, wise
• vicakṣaṇān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vicakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'viprān')

• śruta-adhyayana-saṃpannān: endowed with scriptural learning and study
• śruta-adhyayana-saṃpannān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śruta (प्रातिपदिक) + adhyayana (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃpanna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (निर्देश/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषभावः) 'श्रुताध्ययनेन संपन्न' = endowed with learning and study; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (viprān)

• yajña-karma-parāyaṇān: devoted to sacrificial rituals
• yajña-karma-parāyaṇān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) 'यज्ञकर्मणि परायण' = devoted to sacrificial rites; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (viprān)

Speaker

Contextual narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa (speaker not explicitly marked in this verse)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis at Naimiṣāraṇya (standard Purāṇic frame; not explicit in this verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage arranges a formal invitation: learned brāhmaṇas arrive with palm-leaf manuscripts, kuśa grass, and ritual vessels, forming an assembly near a newly prepared liṅga-site.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma values competent spiritual stewardship—those grounded in śruti and ritual uphold tīrtha traditions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Nāgarakhaṇḍa sacred site where brāhmaṇas are assembled for the Liṅga’s public establishment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Selecting and summoning qualified brāhmaṇas—learned in śruti and devoted to yajña/ritual work—for religious proceedings.