Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

नाममात्रेण देवस्य दुःशीलेन यया पुरा । अनेनाराधितः पूर्वं स्वमांसैरेष भास्करः

Transliteration

nāmamātreṇa devasya duḥśīlena yayā purā | anenārādhitaḥ pūrvaṃ svamāṃsaireṣa bhāskaraḥ

Translation

「昔、その素行の悪い者は、ただ御名を唱えるだけでこの神を礼拝した。さらに以前には、このバースカラ（太陽神）そのものを、自らの肉をもって鎮め奉ったのだ。」

Word by Word

• nāma-mātreṇa: by mere name (alone)
• nāma-mātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्राय (determinative: 'mere name'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• devasya: of the god
• devasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• duḥśīlena: by the ill-natured one
• duḥśīlena: Karana (Agent/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥśīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• yayā: by which (act)/by whom (f.)
• yayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• anena: by this (one)
• anena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• ārādhitaḥ: was worshipped/propitiated
• ārādhitaḥ: Kriyā (Result state/क्रिया-फल)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ārādhita (कृदन्त; √rādh/राध् with उपसर्ग ā-)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि-क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (कर्मणि) कर्तृ-निर्देशः तृतीया (anena)

• pūrvam: formerly/before
• pūrvam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvam (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• sva-māṃsaiḥ: with his own flesh
• sva-māṃsaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive: 'own flesh'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• bhāskaraḥ: the Sun (Bhāskara)
• bhāskaraḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (contextual explanation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Narrator recalls an ill-conducted man who worshipped by name alone, and earlier offered his own flesh to Bhāskara in a fierce act of propitiation.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāskara (Sūrya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine name has potency, and intense devotion—even when expressed through severe acts—aims at propitiation and transformation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Sun-related sacred context (Bhāskara/Puṣpāditya narrative) within the chapter; the verse itself does not specify a geographic tīrtha-name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; it recounts modes of worship—nāma-mātra (name-only) and an extreme act of offering (sva-māṃsa), presented as narrative history.