Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अधीशसहितान्नित्यं पूजयन्भक्तिमान्भवेत् । चतुर्विंशतिसंज्ञं च चतुष्टयमुदाहृतम्

Transliteration

adhīśasahitānnityaṃ pūjayanbhaktimānbhavet | caturviṃśatisaṃjñaṃ ca catuṣṭayamudāhṛtam

Translation

അധീശ്വരനോടുകൂടെ നിത്യമായി അവരെ പൂജിക്കുന്നവൻ ഭക്തിമാനാകുന്നു. ഈ ചതുഷ്ടയം ‘ഇരുപത്തിനാല്’ എന്ന സംജ്ഞയാൽ പ്രസ്താവിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• adhīśa-sahitān: (those) together with the presiding lord
• adhīśa-sahitān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhīśa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—अधीशेन सहितान् (accompanied by the presiding lord)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग (adverbial accusative)

• pūjayan: worshipping
• pūjayan: Kriyā-sahakārī (Participial action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘worshipping’ (present active participle)

• bhaktimān: devout / possessing devotion
• bhaktimān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakti-mant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessive)

• bhavet: should become / would be
• bhavet: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• caturviṃśati-saṃjñam: having the designation ‘twenty-four’
• caturviṃśati-saṃjñam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturviṃśati (संख्या) + saṃjña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—चतुर्विंशतिः संज्ञा यस्य

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• catuṣṭayam: the set of four
• catuṣṭayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• udāhṛtam: is stated / is declared
• udāhṛtam: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ud-ā-hṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; predicate to catuṣṭayam

Speaker

Brahmā (in Brahma–Nārada dialogue; implied by section context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performs daily worship before a sanctum: the presiding Lord at center, with four groups of six (total 24) represented as attendant icons or lamps arranged in a mandala.

Characters & Entities

• Adhīśa (presiding Lord)
• Caturviṃśati (twenty-four)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular worship, performed with awareness of the Lord’s presiding presence, matures into steadfast bhakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is embedded in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative environment of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nitya-pūjā (daily worship) of the enumerated divine forms, together with the presiding Lord.