Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं नागतीर्थसमुद्भवम् । माहात्म्यं ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः सर्वपातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṃ nāgatīrthasamudbhavam | māhātmyaṃ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ sarvapātakanāśanam

Translation

ഹേ ബ്രാഹ്മണശ്രേഷ്ഠന്മാരേ! നാഗതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ നിന്നു ഉദ്ഭവിച്ച ഈ സമസ്ത മഹാത്മ്യം ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളോട് പൂർണ്ണമായി ആഖ്യാനം ചെയ്തു; ഇത് സർവ്വപാപനാശകമായ പുണ്യകഥയാണ്।

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सर्वनाम

• वः: to you / for you
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी/षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Dat./Gen.), बहुवचन (Plural); enclitic pronoun

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण

• आख्यातम्: has been narrated
• आख्यातम्: Kriya (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आख्यात (कृदन्त; आ-√ख्या, भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त/PPP)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय (has been told)

• नागतीर्थसमुद्भवम्: arising from the Nāga-tīrtha
• नागतीर्थसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाग-तीर्थ-समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक; components: नाग + तीर्थ + समुद्भव)
• Form: द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण (arisen from Nāga-tīrtha)

• माहात्म्यम्: the greatness (māhātmya)
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Appositional object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग

• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: O best of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण-श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; ब्राह्मण + श्रेष्ठ)
• Form: सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative/Nominative used as address), बहुवचन (Plural), पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (O best Brahmins)

• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: destroying all sins
• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier of māhātmya/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-पातक-नाशन (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + पातक + नाशन)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण (destroyer of all sins)

Speaker

Indra (Sahasrākṣa), within Sūta’s narration context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (brāhmaṇaśreṣṭha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator-sage formally concludes the Nāga-tīrtha account before an assembly of brāhmaṇas; the tīrtha waters shimmer behind, suggesting ‘sarva-pātaka-nāśana’.

Characters & Entities

• Nāgatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Listening to or preserving the māhātmya of a holy place is itself a purifier that destroys accumulated sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāga-tīrtha (connected with the Nāga sacred waters, later linked with Nāgahrada in this section).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse concludes the narration by praising the māhātmya as sin-destroying.