Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अश्वत्थजनका मर्त्या निपत्य जगती तले । पापामुक्ताः समायांति योनिं श्रेष्ठां शुभान्विताः

Transliteration

aśvatthajanakā martyā nipatya jagatī tale | pāpāmuktāḥ samāyāṃti yoniṃ śreṣṭhāṃ śubhānvitāḥ

Translation

ഭൂമിതലത്തിൽ അശ്വത്ഥം സ്ഥാപിച്ച് അതിന്റെ ‘ജനകർ’ ആകുന്ന മർത്ത്യർ പാപമുക്തരായി, ശുഭസമ്പന്നമായ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ യോനി (ഉത്തമ ജന്മം) പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• अश्वत्थजनकाः: those who generate/plant an aśvattha
• अश्वत्थजनकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśvattha + janaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (अश्वत्थस्य जनकाः = aśvattha-planters/begetters)

• मर्त्याः: mortals
• मर्त्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; अश्वत्थजनकाः इत्यस्य विशेष्य/समनाधिकरण

• निपत्य: having fallen
• निपत्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni-√pat (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभावः; 'having fallen'

• जगती: of the earth/world
• जगती: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचनम् (तले इत्यस्य सम्बन्धः)

• तले: on the surface
• तले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्

• पापामुक्ताः: freed from sin
• पापामुक्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa + mukta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (पापात् मुक्ताः)

• समायान्ति: they attain/come to
• समायान्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्

• योनिम्: a womb/birth
• योनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• श्रेष्ठाम्: excellent
• श्रेष्ठाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; योनिम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• शुभान्विताः: endowed with auspiciousness
• शुभान्विताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha + anvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (शुभैः अन्विताः)

Speaker

Unknown (Nāgarakhaṇḍa narrator addressing a king; speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aśvattha-janakatva (merit of establishing aśvattha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: king (narādhipa/rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee plants an aśvattha; above, a radiant path indicates pāpa-mukti and ascent to auspicious rebirth; the tree shelters travelers and animals, showing loka-kalyāṇa.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvattha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creating and sustaining sacred supports for dharma (like the aśvattha) yields purification and higher auspicious destiny.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it praises the act itself within a tīrtha-centered discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Establishing/planting an aśvattha on the earth as a meritorious dharmic act.