Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

भर्तृयज्ञ उवाच । काम्यानि तेऽधुना वच्मि श्राद्धानि पृथिवीपते । यैः कृतैः समवाप्नोति मर्त्यो हृदयसंस्थितम्

Transliteration

bhartṛyajña uvāca | kāmyāni te'dhunā vacmi śrāddhāni pṛthivīpate | yaiḥ kṛtaiḥ samavāpnoti martyo hṛdayasaṃsthitam

Translation

Bhartṛyajña dit : « Ô seigneur de la terre, je vais maintenant t’exposer les Śrāddha kāmya, les rites qui accomplissent les vœux ; en les accomplissant, le mortel obtient ce que son cœur chérit en secret. »

Word by Word

• bhartṛyajñaḥ: Bhartṛyajña
• bhartṛyajñaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ-yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kāmyāni: desirable (wish-fulfilling)
• kāmyāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन; कर्मविशेषण

• te: to you / your
• te: Sampradana/Sambandha (To you/सम्प्रदान-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) एकवचन (enclitic)

• adhunā: now
• adhunā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhunā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• vacmi: I speak / I will tell
• vacmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); उत्तमपुरुष (1st person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śrāddhāni: śrāddha rites
• śrāddhāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन

• pṛthivīpate: O lord of the earth
• pṛthivīpate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī-pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• yaiḥ: by which
• yaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); बहुवचन

• kṛtaiḥ: performed
• kṛtaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kṛta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत (past passive participle)

• samavāpnoti: attains
• samavāpnoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: सम्+अव

• martyaḥ: a mortal
• martyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• hṛdayasaṃsthitam: that which is lodged in the heart (heart’s desire)
• hṛdayasaṃsthitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hṛdaya-saṃsthita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; कर्मविशेषण

Speaker

Bhartṛyajña

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pṛthivīpati (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhartṛyajña begins a new teaching section before the king: a scroll/palm-leaf opened, ritual items arranged, and symbolic motifs of ‘heart’s desire’ (lotus at the chest) indicating attainment through kāmya-śrāddha.

Characters & Entities

• Bhartṛyajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha is presented not only as duty but also as a means to attain legitimate aims when performed according to dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The discourse is situated in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya within Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An introduction to ‘kāmya’ Śrāddhas—special Śrāddha performances undertaken for specific desired outcomes.