Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

यन्मया च श्रुतं पूर्वं सकाशात्स्वपितुः शुभम्

Transliteration

yanmayā ca śrutaṃ pūrvaṃ sakāśātsvapituḥ śubham

Translation

ഞാൻ മുമ്പ് എന്റെ തന്നെ പിതാവിന്റെ സാന്നിധ്യത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ശ്രവിച്ച മംഗളവും ഹിതകരവും ആയ വചനങ്ങളേ (ഇപ്പോൾ പറയുന്നു)।

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that (thing)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

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

• श्रुतम्: heard
• श्रुतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पूर्वम्: formerly/before
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• सकाशात्: from the presence of/from near
• सकाशात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अपादानार्थे अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; पञ्चमी-अर्थे (ablatival indeclinable)

• स्वपितुः: of (my) own father
• स्वपितुः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: स्वस्य पितुः); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• शुभम्: auspicious/good
• शुभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

Speaker

Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm teaching moment: a narrator recalls auspicious instruction received earlier from his father/elder, seated in a simple āśrama or household courtyard, preparing to recount a tīrtha’s greatness.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• father (sva-pitṛ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic wisdom is preserved and sanctified through paramparā—faithful hearing and retelling from realized elders.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this half-verse; it establishes the source-authority of the teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it emphasizes the legitimacy of teaching through prior hearing (śruti/śravaṇa).