Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

यश्चैतच्छृणुयाद्भक्त्या वाच्यमानं द्विजोत्तमाः । सोऽपि संवत्सरं यावत्पन्नगैर्न च पीड्यते

Transliteration

yaścaitacchṛṇuyādbhaktyā vācyamānaṃ dvijottamāḥ | so'pi saṃvatsaraṃ yāvatpannagairna ca pīḍyate

Translation

Wahai yang terbaik di antara para dwija, sesiapa yang mendengar dengan bhakti ketika kemuliaan ini dibacakan, dia juga tidak akan diganggu oleh ular selama setahun.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (निपात)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपातः

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śṛṇuyāt: may hear
• śṛṇuyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु, धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• vācyamānam: being recited
• vācyamānam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of etat/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vac (वच्, धातु) + यत्-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे शानच्/मान-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (being recited/spoken)

• dvija-uttamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (द्विजानाम् उत्तमाः)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: also; even
• api: Samuccaya/Avadhāraṇa (Also/even)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (निपात)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अपि = also/even

• saṃvatsaram: for a year
• saṃvatsaram: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कालपरिमाणे (accusative of duration)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Relation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधि-वाचक (as long as)

• pannagaiḥ: by snakes
• pannagaiḥ: Karaṇa (Agent in passive/instrumental/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pannaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (निपात)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (निपात)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपातः

• pīḍyate: is afflicted; is tormented
• pīḍyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pīḍ (पीड्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive sense)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from immediate narrative frame of Nāgara-khaṇḍa tīrtha-māhātmya discourse; explicit Sūta appears at 184.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned brāhmaṇa recites while devotees listen with folded hands; a serpent at the threshold turns away, indicating the one-year protective boundary.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional listening (śravaṇa) to a tīrtha-māhātmya is itself a dharmic act that grants tangible protection and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāga-tīrtha, presented within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa: listening with devotion to the recitation of the Nāga-tīrtha māhātmya.