Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

एष एव परो धर्मो भूपतीनामुदाहृतः । यत्प्रजापालनं शश्वत्तासां च सुखसंस्थितिः

Transliteration

eṣa eva paro dharmo bhūpatīnāmudāhṛtaḥ | yatprajāpālanaṃ śaśvattāsāṃ ca sukhasaṃsthitiḥ

Translation

ಇದೇ ರಾಜರ ಪರಮಧರ್ಮವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ—ಪ್ರಜೆಯನ್ನು ಸದಾ ಪಾಲಿಸಿ ರಕ್ಷಿಸುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಅವರ ಸುಖ-ಕ್ಷೇಮವನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಿರಗೊಳಿಸುವುದು।

Word by Word

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• paraḥ: supreme
• paraḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• dharmaḥ: duty/dharma
• dharmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhūpatīnām: of kings
• bhūpatīnām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• udāhṛtaḥ: is declared/has been stated
• udāhṛtaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-ā-√hṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भाव (passive sense)

• yat: that which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• prajā-pālanam: protection of the subjects
• prajā-pālanam: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक) + pālana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (prajāyāḥ pālanam)

• śaśvat: always
• śaśvat: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śaśvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• tāsām: of them (the subjects)
• tāsām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordinator/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• sukha-saṃsthitiḥ: secure well-being/comfortable stability
• sukha-saṃsthitiḥ: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (sukhasya saṃsthitiḥ)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A righteous king seated in sabhā, listening to counsel, while citizens—farmers, merchants, ascetics—stand protected under a symbolic canopy of dharma; in the background a tīrtha landscape suggests sacred legitimacy of just rule.

Characters & Entities

• bhūpati (king)
• prajā (subjects)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kingship is a sacred trust: protecting people and ensuring their stable happiness is the supreme royal duty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a site directly; it provides the dharmic framework for the Ajāpāleśvarī tīrtha narrative by defining ideal rulership.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a normative dharma statement (rāja-dharma) rather than a ritual instruction.