Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 258

Devanagari script

ध्यानैजपैः पूजितैश्च भक्तानां मुनिसत्तम । मोक्षो भवति बन्धेभ्यः कर्मजेभ्यो न संशयः

Transliteration

dhyānaijapaiḥ pūjitaiśca bhaktānāṃ munisattama | mokṣo bhavati bandhebhyaḥ karmajebhyo na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

ഹേ മുനിശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! ഭക്തർ ധ്യാനം, ജപം, പൂജ എന്നിവയാൽ ആരാധിച്ചാൽ കർമജന്യബന്ധങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് മോക്ഷം നിശ്ചയമായും ലഭിക്കുന്നു; സംശയമില്ല.

Word by Word

• ध्यानैः: by meditations
• ध्यानैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural (by/with meditations)

• जपैः: by mantra-recitations
• जपैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural (by recitations)

• पूजितैः: by (things) worshipped / with worship
• पूजितैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Past passive participle, instrumental plural (being worshipped/with worshipped acts)

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

• भक्तानाम्: of devotees
• भक्तानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; Genitive plural (of devotees)

• मुनिसत्तम: O best of sages
• मुनिसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Vocative singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (मुनिषु सत्तमः)

• मोक्षः: liberation
• मोक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• भवति: arises / happens
• भवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Present indicative, 3rd sg

• बन्धेभ्यः: from bonds
• बन्धेभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), बहुवचन; Ablative plural (from bonds)

• कर्मजेभ्यः: born of karma
• कर्मजेभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Ablative plural; तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मणः जाताः) qualifying बन्धेभ्यः

• न: not / no
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Pratijna/Purvapaksha (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular (as predicate: 'no doubt')

Speaker

Brahmā (addressing Nārada as ‘munisattama’; inferred from section context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in a temple courtyard performing pūjā with lamps and flowers, then seated for japa with mālā, then silent meditation—three panels or a single composite scene indicating the triad leading to liberation (chains dissolving into light).

Characters & Entities

• bhakta (devotees)
• mokṣa
• karma-bandha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional disciplines—dhyāna, japa, and pūjā—are affirmed as effective means to overcome karma-bondage and attain mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative frame within Nāgara-khaṇḍa’s tīrtha section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditation (dhyāna), mantra-recitation (japa), and worship (pūjā) are explicitly recommended for devotees.