Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

अब्रवीच्च विहस्योच्चैर्मेघगम्भीरया गिरा । सर्वांस्तान्ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठान्मृतान्संजीवयन्निव

Transliteration

abravīcca vihasyoccairmeghagambhīrayā girā | sarvāṃstānbrāhmaṇaśreṣṭhānmṛtānsaṃjīvayanniva

Translation

അപ്പോൾ അദ്ദേഹം ഉച്ചത്തിൽ ചിരിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് മേഘഗംഭീരമായ വാണിയിൽ പറഞ്ഞു; ആ വാക്കുകൾ ആ ബ്രാഹ്മണശ്രേഷ്ഠരെ മരിച്ചവരിൽ നിന്ന് ജീവിപ്പിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ തോന്നി।

Word by Word

• abravīt: he said
• abravīt: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• vihasya: having laughed
• vihasya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-has (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्/क्त्वा-समकक्ष अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund) 'having laughed/smiled'

• uccaiḥ: loudly
• uccaiḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: uccaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• megha-gambhīrayā: with a cloud-deep (voice)
• megha-gambhīrayā: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: megha (प्रातिपदिक) + gambhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (उपमान/सादृश्यार्थ: 'cloud-deep'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया, एकवचन (agreeing with girā)

• girā: by (his) voice/speech
• girā: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gir (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• sarvān: all
• sarvān: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन (qualifying tān/brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhān)

• tān: those
• tān: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhān: the best brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhān: Karma (Object apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/निर्धारण: 'best among brāhmaṇas'); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• mṛtān: dead
• mṛtān: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) 'dead'; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन (qualifying brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhān)

• saṃjīvayan: reviving (them)
• saṃjīvayan: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Simultaneous action/qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-jīv (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (agreeing with subject 'he')

• iva: as if
• iva: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान (particle of comparison)

Speaker

Śiva (implied; later identified as Hara/Śaśiśekhara in the passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhagavān stands radiant, laughing gently yet loudly; his thunder-deep voice rolls across the scene, and the brāhmaṇas—previously stunned—seem to awaken as if revived.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Śiva (Hara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine speech and grace can restore courage and life-force; in kṣetra-māhātmya, Śiva’s presence reanimates dharma in devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s local kṣetra setting (a city-adjacent sacred field), preparing for the praise of nearby liṅgas and kṣetras in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly here; it introduces a divine address that leads into requests regarding liṅga presence and kṣetra practice.