Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सप्तमस्तु सहस्राक्षः सांप्रतं वर्ततेऽत्र यः । एकसप्ततिसंवर्तचतुर्दशदिने विधेः

Transliteration

saptamastu sahasrākṣaḥ sāṃprataṃ vartate'tra yaḥ | ekasaptatisaṃvartacaturdaśadine vidheḥ

Translation

Ici, dans le cycle présent, préside le septième Indra : Sahasrākṣa, le Mille-Yeux. Ô Brahmā, sa durée se compte comme quatorze jours au sein d’un seul « saṃvarta », dont la mesure est au nombre de soixante et onze.

Word by Word

• सप्तमः: the seventh
• सप्तमः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of sahasrākṣaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (particle)

• सहस्राक्षः: the thousand-eyed one (Indra)
• सहस्राक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र-अक्ष (सहस्र + अक्ष; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (सहस्रम् अक्षाणि यस्य)

• सांप्रतम्: at present
• सांप्रतम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सांप्रतम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• वर्तते: exists/continues
• वर्तते: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject of relative clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• एकसप्ततिसंवर्तचतुर्दशदिने: on the fourteenth day of the seventy-one saṃvarta (cycle)
• एकसप्ततिसंवर्तचतुर्दशदिने: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-सप्तति-संवर्त-चतुर्दश-दिन (एक + सप्तति + संवर्त + चतुर्दश + दिन; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (एकसप्ततिसंवर्तस्य चतुर्दशदिने)

• विधेः: of Brahmā/the Ordainer
• विधेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style; exact speaker not in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: vidheḥ (addressed as Brahmā) / dvijāḥ (narrative audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau of the ‘seventh Indra’ presiding over a cosmic court; a segmented wheel shows 71 divisions (manvantara count) and a highlighted 14-day segment; Sūta narrates to sages.

Characters & Entities

• Sahasrākṣa (Indra)
• Vidhī (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are praised within a cosmic frame: even divine rulership (Indra’s office) is time-bound, urging humility and dharmic living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse supports the Tīrthamāhātmya chapter’s cosmological teaching; the specific tīrtha is not named in the snippet.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None here; the verse is doctrinal, describing divine offices and measures of time.