Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

इमाः पूज्याश्च लोकेऽत्र चतुर्विंशतिसंख्यकाः । तासां च दैवतं विष्णुं नामानि च वदाम्यहम्

Transliteration

imāḥ pūjyāśca loke'tra caturviṃśatisaṃkhyakāḥ | tāsāṃ ca daivataṃ viṣṇuṃ nāmāni ca vadāmyaham

Translation

Ces vingt-quatre formes sont vénérées pour le culte en ce monde ; leur divinité présidante est Viṣṇu. À présent, j’en énoncerai aussi les noms.

Word by Word

• imāḥ: these (f.)
• imāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• pūjyāḥ: worthy of worship
• pūjyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūjya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √pūj पूज्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative adjective)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• caturviṃśati-saṃkhyakāḥ: numbering twenty-four
• caturviṃśati-saṃkhyakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturviṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numerical qualifier)

• tāsām: of them
• tāsām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• daivatam: deity
• daivatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daivata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; अत्र द्वितीया (object-complement) अधिकयुक्ता

• viṣṇum: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• nāmāni: names
• nāmāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अत्र द्वितीया (object)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• vadāmi: I speak/tell
• vadāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (वद्)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śāligrāma-śilā (24 pūjya-bhedas)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator prepares to recite a litany of names; a ceremonial arrangement shows multiple Śāligrāmas in a row, each with a small label/gesture indicating its name, under a Viṣṇu emblem (śaṅkha-cakra).

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Śāligrāma-śilā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All authentic Śāligrāma forms are worship-worthy because they are fundamentally expressions of Viṣṇu.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The wider Gaṇḍakī–Śāligrāma sacred geography is the implied setting of this Śāligrāma-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā (worship) of the twenty-four Śāligrāma types with awareness that Viṣṇu is their presiding deity.