Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

युद्धवार्त्तास्तथा चक्रे देवासुरगणोद्भवाः । शृणोति च तथा नित्यं विलासेषु मनो दधे । अनुष्ठानं ततश्चक्रे मनोराज्यसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

yuddhavārttāstathā cakre devāsuragaṇodbhavāḥ | śṛṇoti ca tathā nityaṃ vilāseṣu mano dadhe | anuṣṭhānaṃ tataścakre manorājyasamudbhavam

Translation

Она также вела речи о битвах — порождённых сонмами богов и асуров, — и постоянно слушала такие повествования, устремляя ум к царским усладам. Затем она принялась за обеты и обряды, возникшие из этих мечтаний о владычестве.

Word by Word

• युद्धवार्त्ताः: news of war
• युद्धवार्त्ताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuddha (प्रातिपदिक) + vārttā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘युद्धस्य वार्त्ता’ (news of war)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = likewise/so

• चक्रे: she made/created
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• देवासुरगणोद्भवाः: arising from gods’ and demons’ hosts
• देवासुरगणोद्भवाः: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + asura (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘देव-असुर-गणात् उद्भवाः’ (arising from groups of gods and demons); विशेषण ‘युद्धवार्त्ताः’

• शृणोति: she hears
• शृणोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय)

• तथा: also/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (क्रियाविशेषण) = always/constantly (accusative used adverbially)

• विलासेषु: in amusements/pleasures
• विलासेषु: Adhikarana (Location/विषयाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vilāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दधे: she placed/fixed
• दधे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अनुष्ठानम्: a performance/undertaking
• अनुष्ठानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anuṣṭhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक)

• चक्रे: she made
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• मनोराज्यसमुद्भवम्: born of imagination
• मनोराज्यसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक) + rājya (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘मनोराज्यात् समुद्भवम्’ (arising from imagination); विशेषण ‘अनुष्ठानम्’

Speaker

Narrator (not explicitly named in the excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The woman listens daily to vivid accounts of divine and demonic battles; her imagination turns into a private ‘royal court’ of pleasures and imagined sovereignty; she begins observances driven by this fantasy.

Characters & Entities

• Deva
• Asura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The mind’s repeated listening and fixation shapes conduct; desire-driven imagination can lead to misguided practices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of the continuing narrative within Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It mentions anuṣṭhāna (observances) undertaken, but without specifying a particular vrata or mantra here.