Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

यस्तां पूजयते मर्त्यः श्वेतपुष्पानुलेपनैः । स स्याद्वाग्ग्मी सुमेधावी सदा जन्मनिजन्मनि

Transliteration

yastāṃ pūjayate martyaḥ śvetapuṣpānulepanaiḥ | sa syādvāggmī sumedhāvī sadā janmanijanmani

Translation

白き花と香油の塗香をもって彼女を礼拝する者は、いかなる人といえども、言葉に秀で、智慧鋭く、生まれ生まれに常にその徳を得る。

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः (relative pronoun)

• tām: her / that (f.)
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pūjayate: worships
• pūjayate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• martyaḥ: a mortal man
• martyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• śveta-puṣpa-anulepanaiḥ: with applications (smearings) of white flowers
• śveta-puṣpa-anulepanaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + anulepana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; साधन/करणवाचक; समासः—कर्मधारय (śveta+puṣpa) तत्पुरुषेण anulepana-सम्बन्धः

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• syāt: would become / should be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vāg-gmī: eloquent
• vāg-gmī: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमापाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāc (प्रातिपदिक) + gmin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—यस्मिन् वाक् गच्छति/अस्ति सः

• su-medhā-vī: very intelligent
• su-medhā-vī: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमापाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + medhā (प्रातिपदिक) + vin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—सु-मेधा यस्य सः

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• janmani-janmani: in birth after birth
• janmani-janmani: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन-द्विरुक्ति; अव्ययीभावार्थे ‘प्रत्येकं जन्मनि’ (in each birth)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (within the Sarasvatī tīrtha phalaśruti section)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-āyatana (as referenced)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers white lotuses/jasmine and applies sandal/unguent before a serene Sarasvatī icon; a veena rests by her, manuscripts and rosary nearby; the devotee’s speech appears as luminous syllables.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through pure offerings refines speech and intellect, and such samskāra is said to carry across lifetimes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarasvatī tīrtha described in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 46).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā to Sarasvatī using śveta-puṣpa (white flowers) and anulepana (fragrant anointments).