Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

शिल्पिनश्च समाहूयानेकांस्तत्र सहस्रशः । शोधयामास तां भूमिमधस्ताद्बहुविस्तृताम्

Transliteration

śilpinaśca samāhūyānekāṃstatra sahasraśaḥ | śodhayāmāsa tāṃ bhūmimadhastādbahuvistṛtām

Translation

Ali convocou os artífices—muitos, até aos milhares—e pôs-se a limpar e purificar aquela terra, cavando para baixo na sua vasta extensão subterrânea.

Word by Word

• śilpinaḥ: craftsmen, artisans
• śilpinaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śilpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन (कर्मपद)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• samāhūya: having summoned
• samāhūya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam + ā + √hū (हू/आह्वाने) (धातु) → samāhūya (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• anekān: many
• anekān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aneka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; विशेषण (śilpinaḥ इत्यस्य)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• sahasraśaḥ: by the thousand, in thousands
• sahasraśaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (in thousands)

• śodhayāmāsa: caused to be cleaned, purified
• śodhayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śudh/śodh (शुध्/शोधने) (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative)

• tām: that
• tām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (bhūmim इत्यस्य)

• bhūmim: ground, land
• bhūmim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• adhastāt: from below, underneath
• adhastāt: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhastāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (below/underneath)

• bahu-vistṛtām: very widely spread/extended
• bahu-vistṛtām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + vistṛta (√stṛ/स्तृ + vi; कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (bahuṃ vistṛtā)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Thousands of artisans assemble with tools; the king oversees as earth is cleared, dust removed, and deep excavation begins—revealing older layers of the sacred ground.

Characters & Entities

• Śilpins (artisans)
• Kṣetra land (bhūmi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Restoring sacred places requires collective effort; physical cleansing of a kṣetra mirrors inner purification in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The obscured ādyatīrtha/liṅga-kṣetra being prepared for renewed worship and construction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Site-clearing and purification (śodhana) as a preliminary step to prāsāda construction and renewed tīrtha-function.