Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

ततः सर्वाणि पीठानि यानि संति धरातले । तानि तत्रानयामास मंत्रशक्त्या महामुनिः

Transliteration

tataḥ sarvāṇi pīṭhāni yāni saṃti dharātale | tāni tatrānayāmāsa maṃtraśaktyā mahāmuniḥ

Translation

Ensuite, le grand sage, par la puissance du mantra, fit venir en ce lieu tous les pīṭhas sacrés qui existent sur la terre.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपपद-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb): 'thereafter/from that'

• सर्वाणि: all
• सर्वाणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Pl.)

• पीठानि: seats/sacred seats (pīṭhas)
• पीठानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Pl.)

• यानि: which
• यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (relative pronoun; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Pl.)

• सन्ति: are/exist
• सन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (Present, 3rd, Pl.)

• धरातले: on the earth’s surface
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरातल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Neuter, Loc., Sg.)

• तानि: those (pīṭhas)
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Acc., Pl.)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• अनयामास: brought
• अनयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense via prefix आ- (3rd Sg. Perfect: 'brought/led')

• मन्त्रशक्त्या: by the power of mantra
• मन्त्रशक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र-शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक; मन्त्र + शक्ति)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (Feminine, Instr., Sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mantra-śakti: 'power of mantra')

• महामुनिः: the great sage
• महामुनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि (प्रातिपदिक; महा + मुनि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nom., Sg.); कर्मधारय (great sage)

Speaker

Narrator (unmarked in verse; third-person narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A great sage stands in a consecrated precinct; luminous pīṭhas/altars from across the earth appear and assemble around him, drawn by mantra-force like constellations forming a mandala.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya (Mahāmuni)
• Pīṭhas
• Mantra-śakti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is not merely physical; mantra and tapas can concentrate and reveal the power of holy centers for dharma’s purposes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A focal site (tatra) becomes a convergence point for all pīṭhas; the verse glorifies the gathered sanctity rather than a single named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it implies mantra-siddhi and the invocation/relocation of sacred power through mantra-śakti.