Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 258

Devanagari script

ध्यानैजपैः पूजितैश्च भक्तानां मुनिसत्तम । मोक्षो भवति बन्धेभ्यः कर्मजेभ्यो न संशयः

Transliteration

dhyānaijapaiḥ pūjitaiśca bhaktānāṃ munisattama | mokṣo bhavati bandhebhyaḥ karmajebhyo na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

Wahai yang terbaik di antara para resi, bagi para bhakta yang memuja dengan meditasi, japa, dan pūjā, mokṣa pasti terbit—membebaskan dari belenggu yang lahir dari karma; tiada keraguan.

Word by Word

• ध्यानैः: by meditations
• ध्यानैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural (by/with meditations)

• जपैः: by mantra-recitations
• जपैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural (by recitations)

• पूजितैः: by (things) worshipped / with worship
• पूजितैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Past passive participle, instrumental plural (being worshipped/with worshipped acts)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• भक्तानाम्: of devotees
• भक्तानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; Genitive plural (of devotees)

• मुनिसत्तम: O best of sages
• मुनिसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Vocative singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (मुनिषु सत्तमः)

• मोक्षः: liberation
• मोक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• भवति: arises / happens
• भवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Present indicative, 3rd sg

• बन्धेभ्यः: from bonds
• बन्धेभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), बहुवचन; Ablative plural (from bonds)

• कर्मजेभ्यः: born of karma
• कर्मजेभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Ablative plural; तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मणः जाताः) qualifying बन्धेभ्यः

• न: not / no
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Pratijna/Purvapaksha (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular (as predicate: 'no doubt')

Speaker

Brahmā (addressing Nārada as ‘munisattama’; inferred from section context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in a temple courtyard performing pūjā with lamps and flowers, then seated for japa with mālā, then silent meditation—three panels or a single composite scene indicating the triad leading to liberation (chains dissolving into light).

Characters & Entities

• bhakta (devotees)
• mokṣa
• karma-bandha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional disciplines—dhyāna, japa, and pūjā—are affirmed as effective means to overcome karma-bondage and attain mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative frame within Nāgara-khaṇḍa’s tīrtha section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditation (dhyāna), mantra-recitation (japa), and worship (pūjā) are explicitly recommended for devotees.