Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

किं दानैः किं व्रतैर्ध्यानैः किं जपैः सोपवासकैः । पुत्रार्थं विद्यमानेऽथ सांबसूर्ये सुरेश्वरे

Transliteration

kiṃ dānaiḥ kiṃ vratairdhyānaiḥ kiṃ japaiḥ sopavāsakaiḥ | putrārthaṃ vidyamāne'tha sāṃbasūrye sureśvare

Translation

子を願うために、ここに諸天の主サーンバスーリヤ（Sāmbasūrya）がましますのに、布施や誓戒、禅定、断食を伴う真言誦持がいったい何の要ろうか。

Word by Word

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Sambandha (Interrogative particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; प्रश्न/निन्दार्थक (what use?)

• दानैः: with gifts/charity
• दानैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Sambandha (Interrogative particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्न/निन्दार्थक

• व्रतैः: with vows
• व्रतैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन

• ध्यानैः: with meditations
• ध्यानैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Sambandha (Interrogative particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्न/निन्दार्थक

• जपैः: with recitations
• जपैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन

• सोपवासकैः: together with fasts
• सोपवासकैः: Karana (Means qualifier/करणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + उपवासक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (उपवासकैः सह); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन; ‘जपैः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पुत्रार्थम्: for obtaining a son
• पुत्रार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुत्र + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण (for the sake of a son)

• विद्यमाने: when (he) is present/existing
• विद्यमाने: Adhikarana (Locative absolute-like/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √विद् (धातु) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present participle, Ātmanepada sense); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन; ‘सांबसूर्ये’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• अथ: then/indeed
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/उपसंहारसूचक

• सांबसूर्ये: in/when Sāmbasūrya (is present)
• सांबसूर्ये: Adhikarana (Location/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सांब + सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (सांबः सूर्यः); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन

• सुरेश्वरे: in the lord of the gods
• सुरेश्वरे: Adhikarana (Location qualifier/अधिकरणविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सुराणाम् ईश्वरः); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन; ‘सांबसूर्ये’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from section context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sāmbasūrya / Vaṭāditya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-like narrator gestures toward the Sāmbasūrya shrine, while symbolic items—dāna pots, japa mālā, fasting bowl—fade into the background, indicating that the deity’s immediate presence is the central means for putrārtha.

Characters & Entities

• Sāmbasūrya
• Sūrya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When a powerful deity is accessible in a sanctified place, direct devotion and darśana are exalted as supremely efficacious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sāmbasūrya kṣetra/tīrtha described in this Tīrthamāhātmya section of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse references dāna, vrata, dhyāna, and japa with fasting, but rhetorically subordinates them to access to Sāmbasūrya for putra-artham.