Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

जिह्वासहस्रैरपि च ब्रह्मणापि न वार्यते । महामन्त्रो ह्ययं लोके जप्यो ध्यातः स्तुतस्तथा

Transliteration

jihvāsahasrairapi ca brahmaṇāpi na vāryate | mahāmantro hyayaṃ loke japyo dhyātaḥ stutastathā

Translation

Mesmo com mil línguas—nem o próprio Brahmā—se esgota o seu louvor. Em verdade, este é um Grande Mantra no mundo: para ser recitado em japa, meditado em dhyāna e também entoado em hinos.

Word by Word

• जिह्वासहस्रैः: with a thousand tongues
• जिह्वासहस्रैः: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जिह्वा-सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग? (sahasra neuter; here instrumental plural), तृतीया, बहुवचन; करण; समासः: जिह्वानां सहस्रैः (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपेक्षा (even/also)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• ब्रह्मणा: by Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणा: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; करण

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘even’

• न: not
• न: Kriya-nishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• वार्यते: is restrained/checked (i.e., cannot be adequately expressed)
• वार्यते: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वार् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• महामन्त्रः: the great mantra
• महामन्त्रः: Karta (Subject/Predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय; समासः: महान् मन्त्रः (karmadhāraya)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Hetu-bodhaka (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• जप्यः: to be recited
• जप्यः: Vidhi (Obligation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जप् (धातु)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/obligatory participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय विशेषण (predicate adjective of mantra)

• ध्यातः: to be meditated upon
• ध्यातः: Vidhi/State (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय विशेषण

• स्तुतः: to be praised
• स्तुतः: Vidhi/State (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्तु (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय विशेषण

• तथा: likewise/so
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘thus/likewise’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Cosmic scene: Brahmā with four faces attempting to praise a radiant mantra-lotus, while countless tongues/sound-waves emanate; below, a devotee chants, meditates, and sings before Viṣṇu’s emblematic conch-discus-mace-lotus.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacred mantra is approached through three complementary practices—japa, dhyāna, and stuti—and its glory is portrayed as limitless.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as doctrinal praise within the broader tīrtha-māhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse prescribes mantra engagement through repetition (japa), meditation (dhyāna), and devotional praise (stuti).