Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

शिला यत्र द्विपञ्चाशद्धस्तानां परिसंख्यया । पितामहेन निर्मुक्ता प्रमोदाय द्विजन्मनाम्

Transliteration

śilā yatra dvipañcāśaddhastānāṃ parisaṃkhyayā | pitāmahena nirmuktā pramodāya dvijanmanām

Translation

അവിടെ അമ്പത്തിരണ്ട് ഹസ്തം അളവുള്ള ഒരു ശിലയുണ്ട്; പിതാമഹൻ (ബ്രഹ്മാവ്) ദ്വിജന്മാരുടെ ആനന്ദത്തിനായി അതിനെ പ്രസിദ്ധമാക്കി വിട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• śilā: a stone; slab
• śilā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (where)

• dvi-pañcāśat-hastānām: of fifty-two cubits (in measure)
• dvi-pañcāśat-hastānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (संख्या) + pañcāśat (संख्या) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (hasta), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (dvipañcāśat = 52) ‘52 cubits’

• parisaṃkhyayā: by (its) enumeration; by count
• parisaṃkhyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parisaṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करणार्थ (by/according to counting)

• pitāmahena: by Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• pitāmahena: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; कर्तृकरण-प्रयोग (agent in passive)

• nirmuktā: released; set free; cast down
• nirmuktā: Kriya-visheshana/Predicate adjective (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-√muc (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (śilā)

• pramodāya: for delight; for joy
• pramodāya: Sampradana/Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramoda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थ (for the sake of delight)

• dvi-janmanām: of the twice-born (Brāhmaṇas etc.)
• dvi-janmanām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठī-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (संख्या) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (dvija), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; द्विगु/कर्मधारय-प्रयोग ‘dvija’ (twice-born)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmā-nirmuktā Śilā (at Camatkārapura)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpasattama (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast sacred stone slab or boulder at a tīrtha precinct, with Brahmā imagined as having ‘released’ it; dvijas gather joyfully—some reciting, some performing small offerings—around the śilā.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Śilā (sacred stone)
• Dvijanmā (twice-born)
• Camatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are remembered through divine signs and landmarks, linking geography with cosmic guardianship and sacred memory.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Camatkārapura-kṣetra, identified by a notable śilā connected with Brahmā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite; the śilā functions as a sacred locus that may be revered through darśana and worship.