Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अथ क्षणेन शुश्राव स गीतं मधुरध्वनि । पठतां नन्दिवृद्धानां तथा शब्दं मनोहरम्

Transliteration

atha kṣaṇena śuśrāva sa gītaṃ madhuradhvani | paṭhatāṃ nandivṛddhānāṃ tathā śabdaṃ manoharam

Translation

ಆಗ ಕ್ಷಣಮಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲೇ ಅವನು ಮಧುರಧ್ವನಿಯುಕ್ತ ಗೀತವನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದನು; ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ನಂದಿವೃದ್ಧರು ಪಠಿಸುವ ಮನೋಹರ ಶಬ್ದವನ್ನೂ ಕೇಳಿದನು।

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक/आरम्भार्थक (indeclinable particle: then/now)

• क्षणेन: in a moment; quickly
• क्षणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• शुश्राव: heard
• शुश्राव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परस्मैपद); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (nominative singular)

• गीतम्: song
• गीतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गीत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √गै/गाय्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (accusative singular)

• मधुरध्वनि: sweet-sounding (sound)
• मधुरध्वनि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मधुर + ध्वनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective) — ‘मधुरः ध्वनिः’ (sweet-sounding)

• पठताम्: of (those) reciting
• पठताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पठ् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक शतृ/शानच्-प्रयोग (present active participle used as genitive plural); षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन — ‘पठत्’ (of those reciting)

• नन्दिवृद्धानाम्: of the Nandi-elders
• नन्दिवृद्धानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दि + वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन (genitive plural) — ‘नन्दीनां वृद्धाः’ (elders of Nandi/elders named Nandi)

• तथा: also; likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb: likewise/also)

• शब्दम्: sound
• शब्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (accusative singular)

• मनोहरम्: charming
• मनोहरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनोहर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘शब्दम्’)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A traveler pauses as an unseen choir begins—sweet, floating melody and rhythmic recitation, as if elder attendants chant in the air; the landscape feels twilight-liminal.

Characters & Entities

• Nandivṛddhas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sound—song and recitation—signals the nearness of unseen powers and a shift from despair to revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not named in this verse; the auditory signs foreshadow the tīrtha-focused disclosure that follows.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit emphasis on pāṭha (recitation) and gīta (devotional singing), though no explicit injunction is given.