Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अथागत्य स राजेंद्रस्तेनैव सह मंत्रिणा । कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां पुरस्तस्याः प्रदक्षिणाम्

Transliteration

athāgatya sa rājeṃdrastenaiva saha maṃtriṇā | kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśyāṃ purastasyāḥ pradakṣiṇām

Translation

अथ स राजेन्द्रः तेनैव सह मन्त्रिणा तत्रागत्य कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां तस्याः पुरतः प्रदक्षिणां चकार।

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (then/now)

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā + gam (धातु) → āgatya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); अर्थः ‘आगम्य’ (having come)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘सः’ = he

• rājendraḥ: the king (lord of kings)
• rājendraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (rājñām indraḥ) = king of kings

• tena: with him
• tena: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; तृतीया एकवचन; ‘तेन’ = with him/by him

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (indeed/only)

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक-उपपद (with)

• maṃtriṇā: with the minister
• maṃtriṇā: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचन; ‘मन्त्रिन्’ = minister/counsellor

• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: in the dark fortnight
• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (kṛṣṇaḥ sa pakṣaḥ) = in the dark fortnight

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; तिथिवाचक; ‘चतुर्दशी’ = fourteenth lunar day

• puraḥ: in front of
• puraḥ: Desha-adhikarana (Locative of place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (in front/before)

• tasyāḥ: of her / of that (place)
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन; ‘तस्याः’ = of her/of that (f.)

• pradakṣiṇām: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; ‘प्रदक्षिणा’ = circumambulation

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king arrives with his minister at a shrine and performs pradakṣiṇā before a revered goddess/deity presence on the dark-fortnight fourteenth day; lamps and night-sky suggest caturdaśī.

Characters & Entities

• Caturdaśī
• Kṛṣṇapakṣa
• Rājendra
• Mantrin
• Pradakṣiṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When rulers themselves undertake tīrtha-devotion with humility and timing, it models dharma for society and magnifies the kṣetra’s fame.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya kṣetra centered on a feminine sacred presence (‘tasyāḥ’) is implied; the precise name is not contained in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā on kṛṣṇapakṣa-caturdaśī is highlighted as the chosen observance.