Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

देवलोकांस्ततो यांति मूलाद्यावच्चतुर्दश । ब्रह्मलोकस्य पर्यंतं स्वकीयैर्य ज्ञकर्मभिः

Transliteration

devalokāṃstato yāṃti mūlādyāvaccaturdaśa | brahmalokasya paryaṃtaṃ svakīyairya jñakarmabhiḥ

Translation

स्वकीयैः यज्ञकर्मभिः ते ततः देवलोकान् यान्ति, मूलादारभ्य चतुर्दशभुवनानि व्याप्त्वा, ब्रह्मलोकपर्यन्तं प्राप्नुवन्ति।

Word by Word

• deva-lokān: the worlds of the gods
• deva-lokān: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां लोकाः)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• yānti: they go, they attain
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या; धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• mūlāt: from the root/base
• mūlāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन

• yāvat: up to, as far as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Limit-marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक)

• caturdaśa: fourteen
• caturdaśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturdaśa (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्/विशेषणरूपेण; संख्या (14) — 'चतुर्दश' द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारः + दश)

• brahma-lokasya: of Brahmaloka
• brahma-lokasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः लोकः)

• paryantam: up to, until
• paryantam: Sambandha (Limit/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paryanta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (अवधि/सीमा-वाचक)

• svakīyaiḥ: by their own
• svakīyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svakīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• yajña-karmabhiḥ: by sacrificial acts
• yajña-karmabhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (यज्ञस्य कर्म)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-officiant offers oblations into a bright sacrificial fire beside a sacred water; above, a vertical ladder of fourteen luminous realms rises, ending in a radiant Brahmaloka with Brahmā seated on a lotus.

Characters & Entities

• Devaloka
• Brahmaloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual action yields graded results within cosmic geography; higher merit elevates one toward subtler, loftier realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes the fruit of yajña within the broader Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yajña-karma (sacrificial rites) is identified as the means for attaining devalokas up to Brahmaloka.