Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

देवतायतनान्यन्ये माहात्म्यसहितानि च । श्रुत्वा पूर्वनृपाणां च पूजयंति विशेषतः

Transliteration

devatāyatanānyanye māhātmyasahitāni ca | śrutvā pūrvanṛpāṇāṃ ca pūjayaṃti viśeṣataḥ

Translation

Yang lain, setelah mendengar māhātmya suci yang berkaitan dengan kuil-kuil para dewa serta kisah raja-raja terdahulu, menyembah tempat-tempat suci itu dengan bhakti yang istimewa.

Word by Word

• देवतायतनानि: temples/shrines of deities
• देवतायतनानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवतायाः आयतनानि)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• माहात्म्यसहितानि: together with the māhātmya (glories)
• माहात्म्यसहितानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माहात्म्य + सहित (प्रातिपदिक; √सह क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (माहात्म्येन सहितानि = accompanied by the eulogies)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• पूर्वनृपाणाम्: of the former kings
• पूर्वनृपाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (पूर्वाः नृपाः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• पूजयन्ति: they worship
• पूजयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta in the Tīrthamāhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A storyteller/priest recites the shrine’s māhātmya to gathered pilgrims; behind them rises a devatāyatana with lamps; listeners then approach with folded hands for special worship.

Characters & Entities

• deity temples (devatāyatana)
• former kings (pūrvanṛpa)
• māhātmya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Listening to a site’s māhātmya (glorifying tradition) deepens devotion and turns temple worship into conscious tīrtha-sevā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage refers broadly to the temples within the kṣetra under discussion in Adhyāya 72, emphasizing their māhātmya rather than naming a single shrine here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā (formal worship) of deity-temples, undertaken especially after hearing their māhātmya and historical exemplars.