Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

त्वदाधारमिदं सर्वं त्वदाधारमिदं जगत् । त्वदाधाराश्च देवाश्च त्वदाधारं तथा मृतम्

Transliteration

tvadādhāramidaṃ sarvaṃ tvadādhāramidaṃ jagat | tvadādhārāśca devāśca tvadādhāraṃ tathā mṛtam

Translation

ഇതെല്ലാം നിന്റെ ആധാരമാണ്; ഈ സമസ്ത ജഗത്തും നിന്മേലാണ് നിലകൊള്ളുന്നത്. ദേവന്മാരും നിന്റെ ആശ്രയത്തിലാണ്; അതുപോലെ മരിച്ചവരുടെ ലോകവും നിന്റെ ആധാരത്തിലാണ്.

Word by Word

• त्वदाधारम्: having you as support
• त्वदाधारम्: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वद् + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्वदाधारम्: having you as support
• त्वदाधारम्: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वद् + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जगत्: world
• जगत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्वदाधाराः: supported by you
• त्वदाधाराः: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वद् + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• त्वदाधारम्: having you as support
• त्वदाधारम्: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वद् + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb: ‘likewise’)

• मृतम्: the dead (departed beings)
• मृतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त, √मृ मरणे)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle used substantively), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas/Vipras praising Nīlarūpa Mahādeva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic tableau: the deity as a central pillar of light supporting layered realms—devas above, humans in the middle, and the ancestral/dead realm below—while brāhmaṇas gesture in explanation and praise.

Characters & Entities

• Nīlarūpa (Śiva)
• Devas
• Mṛta (the departed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is the underlying support of both the visible cosmos and the unseen worlds; devotion unifies worldly and ancestral well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The adhyāya’s tīrtha is presented as grounded in the all-supporting Śiva (Nīlarūpa), linking pilgrimage merit to cosmic stability and ancestral peace.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated, but the mention of the departed aligns the passage with pitṛ-oriented tīrtha practices (tarpaṇa/śrāddha contexts).