Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

तदुपायं सुराचार्य स्वबुद्ध्या त्वं प्रचिन्तय । येन मे स्याज्जयो युद्धे तव कीर्तिरनिन्दिता ०

Transliteration

tadupāyaṃ surācārya svabuddhyā tvaṃ pracintaya | yena me syājjayo yuddhe tava kīrtiraninditā 0

Translation

「ゆえに、神々の師よ、みずからの叡智にてその方途をお考えください。戦において我に勝利が授けられ、またあなたの名声が非難を受けぬように。」

Word by Word

• tadupāyam: that means/strategy
• tadupāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः: ‘तत् उपायम्’ (that means)

• surācārya: O preceptor of the gods
• surācārya: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura + ācārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः: ‘सुराणाम् आचार्य’ (teacher of the gods)

• svabuddhyā: by your own intellect
• svabuddhyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), तृतीया (Instrumental, 3rd), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारयः: ‘स्वा बुद्धिः’ (one’s own intellect)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• pracintaya: consider / devise
• pracintaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √cint (चिन्त्)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (relative pronoun), तृतीया (Instrumental, 3rd), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग-रूप (neuter form used generically)

• me: for me / my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• syāt: may be / would be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• jayaḥ: victory
• jayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• yuddhe: in battle
• yuddhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuddha (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• kīrtiḥ: fame
• kīrtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kīrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• aninditā: blameless
• aninditā: Karta (Predicate adjective of kīrtiḥ/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a(n)- + nindita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular); निन्दित (PPP of √nind) with privative ‘a-’

Speaker

Indra (Śakra), addressing Bṛhaspati

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bṛhaspati

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra respectfully addresses Bṛhaspati with folded hands, requesting a discerning plan; Bṛhaspati’s gaze is inward, as if weighing dharma and outcome.

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Bṛhaspati (Surācārya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True guidance should secure both success and righteousness—victory that does not stain one’s honor or dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this shloka; it is part of a broader Māhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse requests a dharmically sound remedy (upāya).