Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

स एव विमलो योगी यच्चित्तं शिरसि स्थितम् । स्थिरीभूतव्यथं नित्यं दशमद्वारसंपुटे

Transliteration

sa eva vimalo yogī yaccittaṃ śirasi sthitam | sthirībhūtavyathaṃ nityaṃ daśamadvārasaṃpuṭe

Translation

ആ യോഗിയുടെ ചിത്തം ശിരസ്സിൽ നിലകൊണ്ട്—‘ദശമദ്വാരം’ എന്ന സംപുടത്തിനുള്ളിൽ—നിത്യവും സ്ഥിരമായി, വ്യഥാ-കലക്കം ശമിച്ചതായിരിക്കുകയാണെങ്കിൽ, അവൻ മാത്രമേ യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ വിമല യോഗിയാകൂ.

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = Masculine, Nominative singular

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) = emphatic particle ‘indeed/only’

• vimalaḥ: pure
• vimalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of yogī)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vimala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = Masculine, Nominative singular

• yogī: yogi
• yogī: Kartā (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yogin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = Masculine, Nominative singular

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = Neuter, Nominative singular (relative pronoun)

• cittam: mind/awareness
• cittam: Kartā (Subject of sthitam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = Neuter, Nominative singular

• śirasi: in the head
• śirasi: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन = Neuter, Locative singular

• sthitam: situated
• sthitam: Kriyā (Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था गतिनिवृत्तौ)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = Past participle, Neuter, Nominative singular (‘situated’)

• sthirī-bhūta-vyatham: with agitation stilled
• sthirī-bhūta-vyatham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of cittam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthirī + bhūta (कृदन्त; √bhū) + vyatha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष = Neuter, Nominative singular; ‘whose agitation has become steady/stilled’ (lit. ‘steadied-agitation’)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kāla (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् (क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण) = adverbial accusative ‘always’

• daśama-dvāra-saṃpuṭe: in the enclosure of the tenth gate
• daśama-dvāra-saṃpuṭe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśama + dvāra + saṃpuṭa (प्रातिपदिक-त्रय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष = Locative singular; ‘in the enclosure of the tenth door’

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from continuity of teaching)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogin with a luminous lotus at the crown/forehead region; a subtle ‘enclosure’ or halo-like gate above the head labeled ‘daśama-dvāra’; waves of agitation depicted as stilled water around him.

Characters & Entities

• daśamadvāra (tenth gate)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity is defined as inner steadiness: the yogin stabilizes consciousness in the subtle center and transcends agitation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse frames an ‘inner tīrtha’ (subtle locus of realization) rather than naming an external geographical site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A meditative prescription is implied: establish the mind steadily in the cranial center (the ‘tenth gate’).