Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

वेदाध्ययनसंपन्नान्व्रतनिष्ठापरायणान् । एके तत्र कथाश्चक्रुः सुपुण्या ब्राह्मणोत्तमाः

Transliteration

vedādhyayanasaṃpannānvrataniṣṭhāparāyaṇān | eke tatra kathāścakruḥ supuṇyā brāhmaṇottamāḥ

Translation

Ils étaient accomplis dans l’étude des Veda et entièrement voués à l’observance des vœux. Là, quelques brāhmaṇa éminents, d’un mérite très pur, engagèrent de saintes discussions.

Word by Word

• veda-adhyayana-sampannān: accomplished in Vedic study
• veda-adhyayana-sampannān: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + adhyayana (प्रातिपदिक) + sampanna (कृदन्त; सम्-√pad + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (वेदाध्ययने संपन्नाः) (Masculine, Accusative, Plural; 'endowed with Veda-study')

• vrata-niṣṭhā-parāyaṇān: devoted to vow-observance
• vrata-niṣṭhā-parāyaṇān: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (व्रतनिष्ठायां परायणाः) (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• eke: some (of them)
• eke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb)

• kathāḥ: stories/discourses
• kathāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम् (Feminine, Accusative, Plural)

• cakruḥ: made/told
• cakruḥ: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (3rd person plural)

• supuṇyāḥ: very virtuous
• supuṇyāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-puṇya (प्रातिपदिक; सु + पुण्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; 'very meritorious')

• brāhmaṇa-uttamāḥ: excellent brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇa-uttamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थः (best brāhmaṇas) (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Māhātmya (exact speaker not stated in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākāla-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of venerable brāhmaṇas—some reciting, some debating gently—conduct sacred discussions in the temple mandapa; the king listens respectfully, with Mahākāla’s shrine in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Veda
• Vrata (vows)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Learning joined with disciplined vows becomes luminous in a tīrtha setting and expresses itself as dhārmic discourse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scene continues at Mahākāla’s sacred precinct (‘there’), emphasizing tīrtha as a hub of Vedic culture.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vrata-niṣṭhā—steadfast adherence to religious vows—is praised as a defining quality of the holy assembly.