Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अक्षरत्रयसंबद्धं ग्रामत्रयसमन्वितम् । सबिंदुं प्रणवं शश्वज्जपामि जपमालया

Transliteration

akṣaratrayasaṃbaddhaṃ grāmatrayasamanvitam | sabiṃduṃ praṇavaṃ śaśvajjapāmi japamālayā

Translation

അക്ഷരത്രയത്തോട് ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടു, ഗ്രാമത്രയത്താൽ സമന്വിതമായി, ബിന്ദുസഹിതമായ ആ പ്രണവം (ഓം) ഞാൻ ജപമാലയോടെ നിത്യവും ജപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• अक्षर-त्रय-संबद्धम्: connected with three syllables
• अक्षर-त्रय-संबद्धम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + संबद्ध (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (‘connected with three syllables’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; प्रणवम् इति विशेषणम्

• ग्राम-त्रय-समन्वितम्: endowed with three groups
• ग्राम-त्रय-समन्वितम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (‘endowed with three groups’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; प्रणवम् इति विशेषणम्

• स-बिन्दुम्: with the bindu
• स-बिन्दुम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय/उपपद) + बिन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उपपद-तत्पुरुष (‘with bindu’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; प्रणवम् इति विशेषणम्

• प्रणवम्: Praṇava (Oṃ)
• प्रणवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रणव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• शश्वत्: always
• शश्वत्: Adverbial (Kriya-viseshana/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शश्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नित्यत्ववाचक (adverb: always)

• जपामि: I recite
• जपामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• जप-मालया: with a rosary
• जप-मालया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (‘rosary for japa’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya instructional tone)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close view of a devotee’s hand moving a mālā bead-by-bead; above, the syllables A-U-M appear as three luminous arcs converging into a bindu and subtle nāda-wave, forming a radiant Oṃ.

Characters & Entities

• Praṇava (Oṃ)
• Bindu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady japa of the Praṇava, performed with discipline (mālā), is presented as a supreme, purifying spiritual practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa; the snippet focuses on mantra-glory rather than naming a single tirtha explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa (repetition) of the Praṇava using a japa-mālā (rosary).