Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

अक्षय्यं तद्भवेद्देवि नात्र कार्या विचारणा । तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन ज्ञानयोगो बहूत्तमः

Transliteration

akṣayyaṃ tadbhaveddevi nātra kāryā vicāraṇā | tasmātsarvaprayatnena jñānayogo bahūttamaḥ

Translation

Ô Devī, cela devient impérissable ; nul besoin de doute ni de débat. Ainsi, avec tous les efforts, le yoga de la connaissance (jñāna-yoga) est souverainement excellent.

Word by Word

• akṣayyam: imperishable, inexhaustible
• akṣayyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣayya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nom/Acc singular; adjective)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Neuter, nominative singular; pronoun)

• bhavet: would be / should become
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम् (Optative, 3rd person singular, parasmaipada)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8), एकवचन (Feminine, vocative singular)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negative particle)

• atra: here, in this matter
• atra: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• kāryā: to be done, necessary
• kāryā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (Feminine, nominative singular; predicate adjective)

• vicāraṇā: consideration, deliberation
• vicāraṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vicāraṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (Feminine, nominative singular)

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात्-शब्दः; हेत्वर्थे अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः (ablative-form used adverbially: 'therefore/from that reason')

• sarva: all
• sarva: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-पूर्वपदत्वेन समासाङ्ग (as prior member in compound)

• prayatnena: with effort
• prayatnena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन (Masculine, instrumental singular)

• jñāna-yogaḥ: the yoga of knowledge
• jñāna-yogaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः/निर्देशः (Masculine, nominative singular; 'yoga of knowledge')

• bahu-uttamaḥ: most excellent, very best
• bahu-uttamaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, nominative singular; adjective)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; direct address 'Devī' indicates a goddess as listener within the dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher addresses Devī with calm certainty; behind them, a symbolic ‘akṣaya’ lamp burns steadily while a pilgrim’s external offerings fade into a radiant inner light labeled as jñāna.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Jñānayoga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It emphasizes that the highest, imperishable fruit is secured through dedicated cultivation of jñānayoga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse highlights the inner pilgrimage of knowledge within a tīrtha-mahātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A disciplined commitment to jñānayoga is prescribed as the best pursuit.