Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

पुण्याः कथा वरारोहे देवर्षीणां कृतास्तथा । आश्रयाः सन्मुनींद्राणां देवानां च तथा प्रिये

Transliteration

puṇyāḥ kathā varārohe devarṣīṇāṃ kṛtāstathā | āśrayāḥ sanmunīṃdrāṇāṃ devānāṃ ca tathā priye

Translation

ഹേ വരാരോഹേ! ദേവർഷിമാർ രചിച്ച പുണ്യകഥകളും (തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ) തന്നേ. ഹേ പ്രിയേ! സന്മുനീന്ദ്രരുടെ ആശ്രയസ്ഥാനങ്ങളും ദേവന്മാരുടെ നിവാസങ്ങളും കൂടി (തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ) ആകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• puṇyāḥ: holy; meritorious
• puṇyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kathāḥ)

• kathāḥ: stories; accounts
• kathāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• varārohe: O fair-hipped lady
• varārohe: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varārohā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• devarṣīṇām: of divine sages
• devarṣīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (devaś ca ṛṣiś ca → devarṣi)

• kṛtāḥ: made; composed
• kṛtāḥ: Pradhāna (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle)

• tathā: thus; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय

• āśrayāḥ: refuges; abodes; supports
• āśrayāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• sanmunīndrāṇām: of the best among holy sages
• sanmunīndrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + muni (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (sat-munīnām indraḥ → sanmunīndra, 'lord among good sages')

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• tathā: also; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय

• priye: O dear one
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kathā-tīrtha; Muni-āśraya-tīrtha; Deva-sannidhi-tīrtha (conceptual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Varārohe (Devī/Pārvatī implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara declares that sacred stories authored by divine seers, and the refuges of great sages and gods, are themselves tīrthas; imagery shifts to a kathā assembly and to radiant hermitages/temples.

Characters & Entities

• devarṣi
• muni
• deva
• puṇya-kathā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy discourse and sacred storytelling—rooted in seer-tradition—purify like pilgrimage, and so do sanctified abodes of sages and deities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a single named tīrtha; the verse honors ‘āśrayas’—recognized sanctuaries of sages and gods—broadly within Purāṇic sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Engaging with puṇya-kathā (hearing/reciting sacred narratives) is implied as a purificatory practice.