Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

तत्पुरं वृद्धिमायाति दूर्वांकुरैरिव द्विजाः । कांडात्कांडात्प्ररोहद्भिः संख्याहीनैरनेकधा

Transliteration

tatpuraṃ vṛddhimāyāti dūrvāṃkurairiva dvijāḥ | kāṃḍātkāṃḍātprarohadbhiḥ saṃkhyāhīnairanekadhā

Translation

おお婆羅門たちよ、その都はドゥールヴァ草の芽のように大いに増え広がった。茎から茎へと次々に萌え出で、数知れず、さまざまに繁茂した。

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally)

• puram: city, town
• puram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• vṛddhim: growth, increase
• vṛddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• āyāti: attains, comes to
• āyāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) उपसर्ग: ā-
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dūrvā-aṅkuraiḥ: by sprouts of dūrvā grass
• dūrvā-aṅkuraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dūrvā (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅkura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dūrvāyāḥ aṅkurāḥ)

• iva: like, as
• iva: Sambandha (Comparison marker/उपमा-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• kāṇḍāt: from a stalk/segment
• kāṇḍāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन

• kāṇḍāt: from (each) stalk
• kāṇḍāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन (पुनरुक्ति)

• prarohadbhiḥ: sprouting
• prarohadbhiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√ruh (धातु) → prarohat (कृदन्त, वर्तमानकृदन्त)
• Form: तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), विशेषण; (sprouting)

• saṃkhyā-hīnaiḥ: countless
• saṃkhyā-hīnaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (saṃkhyāyāḥ hīnāḥ = lacking count)

• anekadhā: in many ways, manifold
• anekadhā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anekadhā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; addressing dvijāḥ within narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ (brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred town seen as if organically expanding—new quarters, shrines, and homes appearing in repeating clusters—intercut with close imagery of dūrvā grass sending out countless shoots from each node; brāhmaṇas witness the marvel.

Characters & Entities

• Dūrvā grass (metaphor)
• Dvijas (Brāhmaṇas)
• Pura (town)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Where dharma is firmly rooted, prosperity and spiritual vitality multiply naturally—like dūrvā, ever-renewing and spreading.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The excerpt glorifies the flourishing of the tīrtha-associated town in general terms; the specific place-name is not included in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No; it is a descriptive praise (māhātmya) using a fertility/prosperity metaphor rather than a ritual command.