Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

मंत्रैराथर्वणैर्विप्राः क्षुरिकासूक्तसंभवैः । छित्त्वाच्छित्त्वा स्वमांसानि मंत्रपूतानि भक्तितः

Transliteration

maṃtrairātharvaṇairviprāḥ kṣurikāsūktasaṃbhavaiḥ | chittvācchittvā svamāṃsāni maṃtrapūtāni bhaktitaḥ

Translation

Par des mantras atharvaniques issus du Kṣurikā-sūkta, les brāhmanes, dans la dévotion, retranchaient sans cesse des parts de leur propre chair—sanctifiée par le mantra—et les offraient dans le rite.

Word by Word

• maṃtraiḥ: with mantras
• maṃtraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṃtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण) बहुवचन

• ātharvaṇaiḥ: Atharvan (Atharvavedic)
• ātharvaṇaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātharvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying maṃtraiḥ)

• viprāḥ: brahmins
• viprāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन

• kṣurikāsūkta-saṃbhavaiḥ: arising from the Kṣurikā hymn
• kṣurikāsūkta-saṃbhavaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣurikā (प्रातिपदिक) + sūkta (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (kṣurikāsūktāt saṃbhavāḥ = arising from the Kṣurikā-sūkta); विशेषण (qualifying maṃtraiḥ)

• chittvā: having cut
• chittvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: chid (धातु) → chittvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive): 'having cut'

• chittvā: having cut repeatedly
• chittvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: chid (धातु) → chittvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (iterative: 'cutting again and again')

• sva-māṃsāni: their own flesh pieces
• sva-māṃsāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (स्वस्य मांसानि)

• maṃtra-pūtāni: purified by mantras
• maṃtra-pūtāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maṃtra (प्रातिपदिक) + pūta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (mantraiḥ pūtāni = purified by mantras); विशेषण (qualifying svamāṃsāni)

• bhaktitaḥ: out of devotion
• bhaktitaḥ: Hetu (Cause/Motive/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): 'out of devotion/with devotion'

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in māhātmya style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a yajña-śālā beside a blazing kuṇḍa, brāhmaṇas chant Atharvanic mantras; with ritual knives they make repeated symbolic/depicted cuts, offering mantra-consecrated portions into the fire—an intense, dramatic moment of ugra devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Atharva Veda
• Kṣurikā-sūkta
• Vipra (Brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion (bhakti) and mantra-dīkṣā are portrayed as transformative, sanctifying even severe austerity when directed to a sacred purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred kuṇḍa (tīrtha-pool) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya context, from which divine manifestations will arise in the following verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Use of Atharvanic mantras (Kṣurikā-sūkta) in a sacrificial context, preparing offerings as mantra-purified for the homa.