Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कल्पग्रामः स्मृतश्चैकः शालिग्रामो द्वितीयकः । नंदिग्रामस्तृतीयस्तु विश्रुतो द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

kalpagrāmaḥ smṛtaścaikaḥ śāligrāmo dvitīyakaḥ | naṃdigrāmastṛtīyastu viśruto dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

Kalpagrāma est tenu pour le premier; Śāligrāma pour le second; et le troisième, ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés, est le renommé Nandigrāma.

Word by Word

• कल्पग्रामः: Kalpagrāma (name of a village/place)
• कल्पग्रामः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्मृतः: is remembered/said
• स्मृतः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक-विशेषण (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is said/remembered’ (copular sense)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एकः: one/first
• एकः: Visheshana (Adjective of ‘कल्पग्रामः’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective)

• शालिग्रामः: Śāligrāma (name of a village/place)
• शालिग्रामः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शालि (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• द्वितीयकः: the second
• द्वितीयकः: Visheshana (Adjective of ‘शालिग्रामः’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीयक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal)

• नंदिग्रामः: Nandigrāma (name of a village/place)
• नंदिग्रामः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दि (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तृतीयः: the third
• तृतीयः: Visheshana (Adjective of ‘नंदिग्रामः’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ (but/indeed)

• विश्रुतः: well-known
• विश्रुतः: Visheshana (Adjective of ‘नंदिग्रामः’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रु (धातु) → विश्रुत (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Vocative/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Plural); सम्बोधनार्थे प्रथमा (addressing)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kalpagrāma–Śāligrāma–Nandigrāma triad

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (best of twice-born)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-map tableau: three village shrines marked in sequence, with brāhmaṇas reciting and travelers preparing for snāna and darśana.

Characters & Entities

• Kalpagrāma
• Śāligrāma
• Nandigrāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacredness is mapped onto villages as well as great cities—dharma is lived and received through place-based tradition.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Three renowned grāmas: Kalpagrāma, Śāligrāma, and Nandigrāma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit act is stated in this verse; it identifies a triad of sacred villages that the next verse links to snāna-phala.