Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

द्वितीयो निखिलालम्बो ज्ञानयोगेन कीर्तितः । अरूपमप्रमेयं यत्सर्वकायं महः सदा

Transliteration

dvitīyo nikhilālambo jñānayogena kīrtitaḥ | arūpamaprameyaṃ yatsarvakāyaṃ mahaḥ sadā

Translation

La seconde voie est proclamée comme celle qui soutient tout, par le yoga de la connaissance (jñāna-yoga). C’est la Grande Radiance éternelle—sans forme, incommensurable, et pénétrant tous les corps.

Word by Word

• द्वितीयः: the second
• द्वितीयः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal adjective)

• निखिलालम्बः: having all as support (supported by everything)
• निखिलालम्बः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निखिल (प्रातिपदिक) + आलम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• ज्ञानयोगेन: by jñāna-yoga
• ज्ञानयोगेन: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• कीर्तितः: is proclaimed, is described
• कीर्तितः: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थ

• अरूपम्: formless
• अरूपम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• अप्रमेयम्: immeasurable, unknowable
• अप्रमेयम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-prameya (प्रातिपदिक; from √मा (धातु) with प्र- ‘to measure/know’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• सर्वकायम्: having all bodies / all-encompassing body
• सर्वकायम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• महः: great light, splendor
• महः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सदा: always
• सदा: Sambandha (Temporal adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-scholar contemplating: the landscape fades into an all-pervading field of light that fills bodies and space; forms appear as silhouettes within a single radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Jñāna-yoga
• Mahaḥ (Radiance)
• Brahman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Beyond supported meditation, the Purāṇa teaches a second way—jñāna-yoga—by which one realizes the formless, immeasurable, all-pervading Reality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named in this verse; it supplies metaphysical doctrine within a tīrtha-glorifying discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is contemplative—cultivation of liberating knowledge (jñāna-yoga); no external ritual is stated.