Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

कच्चित्पुराणशास्त्राणि प्रणीतानि जनेश्वरैः । संलेख्याक्षररम्याणि साधुभ्यः संप्रयच्छसि

Transliteration

kaccitpurāṇaśāstrāṇi praṇītāni janeśvaraiḥ | saṃlekhyākṣararamyāṇi sādhubhyaḥ saṃprayacchasi

Translation

Wahai wanita mulia, apakah engkau memastikan bahwa śāstra Purāṇa—yang disusun oleh para penguasa agung—disalin dengan aksara indah, lalu dipersembahkan sebagai dāna kepada para sādhū dengan hormat?

Word by Word

• कच्चित्: is it the case that...?
• कच्चित्: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कच्चित् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle: 'whether?')

• पुराणशास्त्राणि: Purāṇa scriptures
• पुराणशास्त्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुराण (प्रातिपदिक) + शास्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (पुराणं च तत् शास्त्रं)

• प्रणीतानि: composed / authored
• प्रणीतानि: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-नी (धातु)
• Form: कर्मणि-भूतकृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (agreeing with 'पुराणशास्त्राणि')

• जनेश्वरैः: by the lords of people (kings)
• जनेश्वरैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जनानाम् ईश्वराः)

• संलेख्य: having copied/written
• संलेख्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-लिख् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); 'having written/copied'

• अक्षररम्याणि: beautiful in letters (well-written)
• अक्षररम्याणि: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक) + रम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying 'पुराणशास्त्राणि'); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अक्षरैः रम्याणि / अक्षराणां रम्याणि)

• साधुभ्यः: to the good people / saints
• साधुभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative), बहुवचन

• संप्रयच्छसि: you give / you bestow
• संप्रयच्छसि: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-यम्/यच्छ् (धातु: यम्, 'to give'—प्रयच्छति)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Unspecified (Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context; didactic dialogue, likely an elder/authority instructing a lady)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A noble lady addressed as ‘janeśvarā’/‘sādhvī’ in context

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A scribe carefully writing on palm-leaf or birch-bark with stylus; finished manuscript wrapped in cloth; the donor presents it to a seated sadhu/ācārya in a temple library or maṭha, with reverent posture.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

That gifting sacred knowledge—especially Purāṇic texts prepared with care—is a high form of dāna that supports dharma and earns puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse itself stresses tīrtha-style merit through dharmic conduct, but does not name a specific tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śāstra-dāna: copying/writing scriptures neatly and donating them to sādhus (virtuous persons).