Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

शृणुध्वं च महाभागा यथा मेऽहिर्गुरुः स्थितः

Transliteration

śṛṇudhvaṃ ca mahābhāgā yathā me'hirguruḥ sthitaḥ

Translation

Écoutez, ô nobles bienheureux, comment le serpent s’est tenu devant moi comme un guru, un maître spirituel.

Word by Word

• śṛṇudhvam: listen (you all)
• śṛṇudhvam: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्, imperative), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Bahuvacana (plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; samuccaya (conjunction)

• mahābhāgāḥ: O greatly fortunate ones
• mahābhāgāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya-samāsa (कर्मधारय): mahā-bhāgāḥ; Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; sambodhana-artha (vocative sense)

• yathā: how/as
• yathā: Sambandha (Clause linker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; upamā/vidhi-arthaka (as/how)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana

• ahiḥ: snake
• ahiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• guruḥ: teacher
• guruḥ: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; predicative nominative with 'ahiḥ'

• sthitaḥ: has been/stands (as)
• sthitaḥ: Kriyā (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta past participle (क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; agrees with 'ahiḥ'

Speaker

An ascetic/renunciate narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya dialogue (speaker not explicitly named in the provided snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: mahābhāgāḥ (noble ones)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-figure addresses an assembly: ‘Listen how the serpent stood as my guru.’ The serpent is depicted calmly, not menacing—symbol of detachment and transience.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even an ordinary sight can become a guru when it awakens discernment and detachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse functions as moral instruction within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the specific tīrtha is not named in this single line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed here; it introduces an instructive example (upadeśa).