Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

द्विजानां रक्षणार्थाय नित्यं संनिहिता भव । एवं सा तत्र संभूता माहित्था वरदेवता

Transliteration

dvijānāṃ rakṣaṇārthāya nityaṃ saṃnihitā bhava | evaṃ sā tatra saṃbhūtā māhitthā varadevatā

Translation

二度生まれの者（ドヴィジャ）を守護するため、常にここに臨在せよ。かくしてその地に、授福の女神マヒṭṭhāが顕現し、久しく鎮まり住した。

Word by Word

• dvijānām: of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijānām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masculine), षष्ठी विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• rakṣaṇārthāya: for the protection
• rakṣaṇārthāya: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rakṣaṇa + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्तिः (Dative/4th), एकवचनम् (singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (रक्षणस्य अर्थः = रक्षणार्थः)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriya-Viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb: always)

• saṃnihitā: present, stationed
• saṃnihitā: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-ni-dhā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्तः—क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• bhava: be
• bhava: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थक/Imperative), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः (2nd person), एकवचनम् (singular)

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-Viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (manner adverb: thus)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb)

• saṃbhūtā: arisen, manifested
• saṃbhūtā: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-bhū (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्तः—क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• māhitthā: Māhitthā (name of the goddess)
• māhitthā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhitthā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular); देवतानाम (proper name)

• varadevatā: the boon-giving deity
• varadevatā: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara + devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), प्रथमा विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular); समासः—कर्मधारयः (वरा देवता = वरदेवता)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahiṭṭhā (Devī-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A boon-giving goddess manifests at a sacred spot and is entreated to remain perpetually present for the protection of the twice-born; the place becomes a guarded sanctuary.

Characters & Entities

• Dvija
• Mahiṭṭhā Devatā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacred site is upheld by divine guardianship; protecting dharma (especially the learned and ritual order) is itself a holy mandate.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya locale where the goddess Mahiṭṭhā is said to be perpetually present (the immediate tīrtha context continues in the surrounding verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse establishes the deity’s perpetual presence and protective function at the site.