Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अथवा बहुनोक्तेन किं स्तवेन तव प्रभो । समासादेव वक्ष्यामि विभूतिं श्रुतिनोदिताम्

Transliteration

athavā bahunoktena kiṃ stavena tava prabho | samāsādeva vakṣyāmi vibhūtiṃ śrutinoditām

Translation

あるいは—主よ、長々と讃えることに何の益があろう。われはヴェーダの宣言する汝の威光を、要約して述べよう。

Word by Word

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय) + vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; vikalpa (alternative)

• bahunā: with much (talk)
• bahunā: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; used adverbially (‘with much [speech]’)

• uktena: by speaking/what is said
• uktena: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ukta (√vac वचने, क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; kta-participle used substantively (‘by what is said’)

• kim: what (use)?
• kim: Prayojana (Rhetorical question/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; interrogative used idiomatically

• stavena: with praise, by eulogy
• stavena: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• tava: of you, your
• tava: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Second person pronoun; Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• prabho: O Lord
• prabho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• samāsāt: in brief, in summary
• samāsāt: Sambandha (Adverbial qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; used adverbially (‘briefly/in summary’)

• eva: only, indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; avadhāraṇa-nipāta (restrictive/emphatic)

• vakṣyāmi: I will tell
• vakṣyāmi: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वचने)
• Form: Luṭ (लुट्, periphrastic future), Uttama-puruṣa (1st person), Singular; parasmaipada

• vibhūtim: manifestation, glory
• vibhūtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhūti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• śruti-nuditām: proclaimed by the Vedas
• śruti-nuditām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śruti (प्रातिपदिक) + nudita (√nud प्रेरणे/उद्घोषे, क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; kta-participle; tatpuruṣa (instrumental sense: ‘proclaimed by the śruti/veda’) agreeing with vibhūtim

Speaker

Viśvāmitra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage pauses mid-hymn, gestures toward a palm-leaf manuscript labeled ‘Śruti’; the atmosphere becomes didactic and focused, as if preparing a concise doctrinal proclamation.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra
• Prabhu (Lord)
• Śruti (Vedas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic devotion is aligned with Vedic testimony; concise truth can be more potent than lengthy rhetoric.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it introduces a summary of divine pervasion that supports the chapter’s tīrtha framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.