Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

तथा तेषूपविष्टेषु सर्वेषु पृथिवीपतिः । उपविश्य धरापृष्ठे कृतांजलिर भाषत

Transliteration

tathā teṣūpaviṣṭeṣu sarveṣu pṛthivīpatiḥ | upaviśya dharāpṛṣṭhe kṛtāṃjalira bhāṣata

Translation

かくして一同が座に就くと、大地の主たる王も地に坐し、合掌して恭敬のうちに語った。

Word by Word

• तथा: thus/then
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• तेषु: among them/when they
• तेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) (contextual), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन (Plural); सर्वनाम

• उपविष्टेषु: (when they were) seated
• उपविष्टेषु: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप + √विश् (विश् प्रवेशने) (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) (contextual), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन (Plural); सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• सर्वेषु: all (of them)
• सर्वेषु: Adhikarana (Locative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) (contextual), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

• पृथिवीपतिः: the king (lord of the earth)
• पृथिवीपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pṛthivyāḥ patiḥ)

• उपविश्य: having sat down
• उपविश्य: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + √विश् (विश् प्रवेशने) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव; ‘having sat down’

• धरापृष्ठे: on the surface of the ground
• धरापृष्ठे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dharāyāḥ pṛṣṭhe)

• कृताञ्जलिः: with hands joined (in reverence)
• कृताञ्जलिः: Karta (Subject attribute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत + अञ्जलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (kṛtaḥ añjaliḥ yena)

• भाषत: spoke
• भाषत: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भाष् (भाष् व्यक्तायां वाचि) (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: All brāhmaṇas seated; the king deliberately sits on the earth (not on a throne), hands folded, ready to speak—an image of humility and dharmic decorum.

Characters & Entities

• pṛthivīpati (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True authority is marked by humility—honoring the virtuous with folded hands is itself a form of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within Tīrthamāhātmya context, but no single tīrtha-name is stated explicitly in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is prescribed here; the act highlighted is respectful posture and añjali (folded hands).