Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

यश्चैतच्छृणुयाद्भक्त्या वाच्यमानं द्विजोत्तमाः । सोऽपि संवत्सरं यावत्पन्नगैर्न च पीड्यते

Transliteration

yaścaitacchṛṇuyādbhaktyā vācyamānaṃ dvijottamāḥ | so'pi saṃvatsaraṃ yāvatpannagairna ca pīḍyate

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ! ഭക്തിയോടെ ഇത് പാരായണം ചെയ്യപ്പെടുമ്പോൾ ആരെങ്കിലും കേൾക്കുകയാണെങ്കിൽ, അവനും ഒരു വർഷം വരെ പന്നഗങ്ങൾ (സർപ്പങ്ങൾ) മൂലം പീഡിക്കപ്പെടുകയില്ല.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (निपात)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपातः

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śṛṇuyāt: may hear
• śṛṇuyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु, धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• vācyamānam: being recited
• vācyamānam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of etat/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vac (वच्, धातु) + यत्-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे शानच्/मान-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (being recited/spoken)

• dvija-uttamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (द्विजानाम् उत्तमाः)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: also; even
• api: Samuccaya/Avadhāraṇa (Also/even)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (निपात)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अपि = also/even

• saṃvatsaram: for a year
• saṃvatsaram: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कालपरिमाणे (accusative of duration)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Relation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधि-वाचक (as long as)

• pannagaiḥ: by snakes
• pannagaiḥ: Karaṇa (Agent in passive/instrumental/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pannaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (निपात)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (निपात)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपातः

• pīḍyate: is afflicted; is tormented
• pīḍyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pīḍ (पीड्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive sense)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from immediate narrative frame of Nāgara-khaṇḍa tīrtha-māhātmya discourse; explicit Sūta appears at 184.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned brāhmaṇa recites while devotees listen with folded hands; a serpent at the threshold turns away, indicating the one-year protective boundary.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional listening (śravaṇa) to a tīrtha-māhātmya is itself a dharmic act that grants tangible protection and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāga-tīrtha, presented within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa: listening with devotion to the recitation of the Nāga-tīrtha māhātmya.