Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तावत्प्राप्तो मुनिर्नाम शांडिल्यो वेदपारगः । तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन तत्र देशे द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

tāvatprāpto munirnāma śāṃḍilyo vedapāragaḥ | tīrthayātrāprasaṃgena tatra deśe dvijottamāḥ

Translation

അന്നേരം തന്നെ വേദപാരഗനായ ശാണ്ഡില്യനാമ മുനി തീർത്ഥയാത്രാസന്ദർഭത്തിൽ ആ ദേശത്ത് എത്തിച്ചേർന്നു, ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ.

Word by Word

• तावत्: then; at that time; so long
• तावत्: Adhikarana (Temporal/देश-कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/परिमाणवाचक (temporal/extent adverb)

• प्राप्तः: arrived; having come
• प्राप्तः: Kriya (मुख्यक्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु) + pra-; प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘arrived’ (PPP used predicatively)

• मुनिः: sage
• मुनिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (नामनिर्देश/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामार्थक-निपात (particle meaning ‘by name’)

• शाण्डिल्यः: Śāṇḍilya
• शाण्डिल्यः: Apposition (विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāṃḍilya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम (proper noun)

• वेदपारगः: knower of the Vedas; one who has mastered the Veda
• वेदपारगः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + pāraga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/उपपद-भाव: ‘वेदस्य पारगः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन: due to the occasion of a pilgrimage
• तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन: Hetu (हेतु/कारण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक) + prasaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘तीर्थयात्रायाः प्रसङ्गः’); तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग (प्रसङ्ग)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• देशे: in the region/place
• देशे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तमाः: excellent Brahmins; best of the twice-born
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘उत्तमाः द्विजाः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (narration, addressing the assembled brāhmaṇas/sages as dvijottamāḥ)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ (addressed audience within the narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable sage Śāṇḍilya—calm yet purposeful—arrives at a sacred ford-region, greeted by assembled brāhmaṇas; the landscape suggests a tīrtha with trees, water, and ritual activity.

Characters & Entities

• Śāṇḍilya
• tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage)
• dvijottama (brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The arrival of a realized teacher during crisis signals that dharma is preserved through right guidance and tīrtha-based purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The adhyāya’s focus moves toward the Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā tīrtha in this kṣetra, approached through the theme of tīrtha-yātrā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā) is referenced as the context for the sage’s arrival.