Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

एवमुक्तास्ततस्तेन विप्रास्ते स्मृतिवादिनः । धर्मशास्त्रं समालोक्य ततः प्रोचुश्च तं द्विजाः

Transliteration

evamuktāstatastena viprāste smṛtivādinaḥ | dharmaśāstraṃ samālokya tataḥ procuśca taṃ dvijāḥ

Translation

അവൻ ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ, സ്മൃതിവാദികളായ ആ വിപ്രന്മാർ ധർമ്മശാസ്ത്രം പരിശോധിച്ച്, പിന്നെ ആ ദ്വിജനോട് പറഞ്ഞു.

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = thus

• uktāḥ: having been addressed
• uktāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: कर्मणि क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) ‘उक्त’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = thereafter

• tena: by him
• tena: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• viprāḥ: Brahmins
• viprāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• te: those
• te: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• smṛti-vādinaḥ: expounders of Smṛti
• smṛti-vādinaḥ: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + vādin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (स्मृतिं वदन्ति इति); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• dharma-śāstram: the dharma-śāstra
• dharma-śāstram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + śāstra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (धर्मस्य शास्त्रम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• samālokya: having consulted
• samālokya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/पूर्वकालिक)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + ā + lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘समालोक्य’ = having examined

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय = thereafter

• procuḥ: they said
• procuḥ: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunctive/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-संबन्ध) = conjunction ‘and’

• tam: to him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dvijāḥ: the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of brāhmaṇas, described as smṛti expounders, open and consult Dharmaśāstra texts (palm-leaf manuscripts) before pronouncing a decision to Parāvasu.

Characters & Entities

• vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• Smṛti
• Dharmaśāstra
• dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is applied through recognized authority—ethical decisions are grounded in śāstra and competent interpreters.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this line; it emphasizes dharma procedure within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The brāhmaṇas formally consult Dharmaśāstra as the method to determine the correct prāyaścitta.