Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

देवतायतनान्यन्ये माहात्म्यसहितानि च । श्रुत्वा पूर्वनृपाणां च पूजयंति विशेषतः

Transliteration

devatāyatanānyanye māhātmyasahitāni ca | śrutvā pūrvanṛpāṇāṃ ca pūjayaṃti viśeṣataḥ

Translation

D’autres, après avoir entendu la grandeur sacrée (māhātmya) liée aux sanctuaires des divinités et les récits des rois d’autrefois, vénérèrent ces lieux avec une dévotion particulière.

Word by Word

• देवतायतनानि: temples/shrines of deities
• देवतायतनानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवतायाः आयतनानि)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• माहात्म्यसहितानि: together with the māhātmya (glories)
• माहात्म्यसहितानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माहात्म्य + सहित (प्रातिपदिक; √सह क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (माहात्म्येन सहितानि = accompanied by the eulogies)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• पूर्वनृपाणाम्: of the former kings
• पूर्वनृपाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (पूर्वाः नृपाः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• पूजयन्ति: they worship
• पूजयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta in the Tīrthamāhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A storyteller/priest recites the shrine’s māhātmya to gathered pilgrims; behind them rises a devatāyatana with lamps; listeners then approach with folded hands for special worship.

Characters & Entities

• deity temples (devatāyatana)
• former kings (pūrvanṛpa)
• māhātmya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Listening to a site’s māhātmya (glorifying tradition) deepens devotion and turns temple worship into conscious tīrtha-sevā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage refers broadly to the temples within the kṣetra under discussion in Adhyāya 72, emphasizing their māhātmya rather than naming a single shrine here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā (formal worship) of deity-temples, undertaken especially after hearing their māhātmya and historical exemplars.