Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

शुनःशेपोऽथ शाक्रेयो बौद्धो दान्तश्चतुर्थकः । वियन्मार्गं हि चत्वारः स्वाश्रममाययुः

Transliteration

śunaḥśepo'tha śākreyo bauddho dāntaścaturthakaḥ | viyanmārgaṃ hi catvāraḥ svāśramamāyayuḥ

Translation

ਉਹ ਸ਼ੁਨಃਸ਼ੇਪ, ਸ਼ਾਕ੍ਰੇਯ, ਬੌੱਧ ਅਤੇ ਚੌਥਾ ਦਾਂਤ ਸਨ; ਚਾਰੇ ਹੀ ਆਕਾਸ਼-ਮਾਰਗ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਸ਼੍ਰਮ ਨੂੰ ਪਰਤ ਗਏ।

Word by Word

• śunaḥśepaḥ: Śunaḥśepa (a person)
• śunaḥśepaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śunaḥśepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha/Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमसूचक-अव्यय (sequencing particle: 'then/now')

• śākreyaḥ: Śākreya (a person)
• śākreyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śākreya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• bauddhaḥ: Bauddha (a person)
• bauddhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bauddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• dāntaḥ: Dānta (the restrained one; a person)
• dāntaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √dam (दम्) past participle)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle)

• caturthakaḥ: Caturthaka (the fourth; a person)
• caturthakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturthaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• viyanmārgam: the sky-path (aerial route)
• viyanmārgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viyan-mārga (प्रातिपदिक; viyan + mārga)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/सम्बन्धार्थः ('sky/air' + 'path')

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Discourse marker (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/indeed)

• catvāraḥ: the four
• catvāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catvāra (प्रातिपदिक; numeral)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); संख्यावाचक

• svāśramam: their own hermitage
• svāśramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva-āśrama (प्रातिपदिक; sva + āśrama)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('own' + 'hermitage')

• āyayuḥ: they came/returned
• āyayuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या) with preverb ā-
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural); परस्मैपद

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; Sūta as frame-narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/Śaunaka-group (typical frame; not explicit here)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four ascetics—Śunaḥśepa, Śākreya, Bauddha, and Dānta—rise and glide along a luminous sky-path back toward a forest hermitage, with clouds parting like a corridor.

Characters & Entities

• Śunaḥśepa
• Śākreya
• Bauddha
• Dānta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual attainment is hinted through the ‘sky-path’ motif, portraying the subtle power (siddhi) associated with tapas and purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not named in this verse; it supports the larger tīrtha-māhātmya narration of the chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse lists characters and indicates their extraordinary mode of travel.