Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

अत्र वः कीर्तयिष्यामि पुरावृत्तां कथां शुभाम् । इन्द्रसेनस्य राजर्षेः सर्वपातकनाशिनीम्

Transliteration

atra vaḥ kīrtayiṣyāmi purāvṛttāṃ kathāṃ śubhām | indrasenasya rājarṣeḥ sarvapātakanāśinīm

Translation

Ici, je vais vous raconter une ancienne histoire de bon augure du sage royal Indrasena, une histoire qui détruit tous les péchés.

Word by Word

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (locative adverb: 'here')

• वः: to you/for you
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Gen./Dat.), बहुवचन; एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम

• कीर्तयिष्यामि: I shall narrate/proclaim
• कीर्तयिष्यामि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्तय् (धातु; √कीर्त् caus.)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), परस्मैपद, उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• पुरावृत्ताम्: ancient/occurred long ago
• पुरावृत्ताम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय) + वृत्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √वृत्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पुरा वृत्ता)

• कथाम्: story
• कथाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• शुभाम्: auspicious
• शुभाम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• इन्द्रसेनस्य: of Indrasena
• इन्द्रसेनस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रसेन (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• राजर्षेः: of the royal sage
• राजर्षेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• सर्वपातकनाशिनीम्: destroying all sins
• सर्वपातकनाशिनीम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सर्वेषां पातकानां नाशिनी)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ahisambhava-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage/narrator addressing assembled brāhmaṇas, gesturing toward a sacred waterbody; the opening frame of a story-within-story, with Indrasena faintly foreshadowed in a vignette.

Characters & Entities

• Indrasena

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives are themselves instruments of purification; hearing and remembering dharmic history is praised as sin-destroying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing tīrtha of this chapter remains the backdrop; the Indrasena episode is introduced to illustrate its power and the rites connected with it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it introduces a purāṇic exemplum (kathā) supporting the tīrtha’s mahātmya.