Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

पुरं प्रकल्पयामास बहुप्राकारसंकुलम् । प्राकारपरिखायुक्तं गोपुरैः समलंकृतम्

Transliteration

puraṃ prakalpayāmāsa bahuprākārasaṃkulam | prākāraparikhāyuktaṃ gopuraiḥ samalaṃkṛtam

Translation

അവൻ അനേകം പ്രാകാരങ്ങളാൽ സമൃദ്ധമായൊരു നഗരം രൂപപ്പെടുത്തി; പ്രാകാരവും പരിഖയും ഉള്ളതും, ഗോപുരങ്ങളാൽ മനോഹരമായി അലങ്കരിച്ചതുമായിരിന്നു.

Word by Word

• पुरम्: a city
• पुरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• प्रकल्पयामास: he had constructed; he caused to be built
• प्रकल्पयामास: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कल्प् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (periphrastic perfect sense: ‘caused to be made/constructed’)

• बहुप्राकारसंकुलम्: crowded with many ramparts
• बहुप्राकारसंकुलम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राकार (प्रातिपदिक) + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘पुरम्’; tatpuruṣa: ‘बहुभिः प्राकारैः संकुलम्’

• प्राकारपरिखायुक्तम्: provided with ramparts and moats
• प्राकारपरिखायुक्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राकार (प्रातिपदिक) + परिखा (प्रातिपदिक) + युक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘पुरम्’; tatpuruṣa: ‘प्राकारैः परिखाभिः च युक्तम्’

• गोपुरैः: with gateways; with gopuras
• गोपुरैः: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• समलंकृतम्: well adorned
• समलंकृतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + अलं + कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘पुरम्’

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A newly planned city rises: concentric ramparts, a surrounding moat, and ornate gopuras; craftsmen measure and build; flags flutter; the sacred landscape frames the urban geometry.

Characters & Entities

• city (pura)
• ramparts (prākāra)
• moat (parikhā)
• gateway (gopura)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creating orderly, protected sacred settlements is presented as a righteous royal duty that supports dharma and pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse describes building within the holy kṣetra of Adhyāya 113 (Nāgarakhaṇḍa); the tīrtha name is not specified here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the focus is on dharmic construction and civic-sacral infrastructure.