Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

प्रसादः क्रियतां तस्माद्ब्राह्मणानां महात्मनाम् । नो चेत्पुरं परित्यज्य यास्यामोऽन्यत्र भूतले

Transliteration

prasādaḥ kriyatāṃ tasmādbrāhmaṇānāṃ mahātmanām | no cetpuraṃ parityajya yāsyāmo'nyatra bhūtale

Translation

तस्माद् महात्मनां ब्राह्मणानां प्रसादः क्रियताम्; नो चेत् पुरं परित्यज्य वयं भूतलेऽन्यत्र यास्यामः।

Word by Word

• prasādaḥ: favor/grace
• prasādaḥ: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kriyatām: let (it) be granted
• kriyatām: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः — ‘let it be done/please be granted’

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात् इति पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपं कारणार्थे अव्ययीभाववत् (ablatival adverb) — ‘therefore/from that reason’

• brāhmaṇānām: of the Brahmins
• brāhmaṇānām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• mahātmanām: of the great-souled
• mahātmanām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘महान् आत्मा येषाम्’/‘महात्मानः’; विशेषण (ब्राह्मणानाम्)

• naḥ: for us
• naḥ: Sampradāna (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम — ‘of us/our’ (here: ‘for us’ in request context)

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha (Conditional particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त/सम्भावनाबोधक) — ‘if’

• puram: the city
• puram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• parityajya: having left
• parityajya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√tyaj (त्यज् धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यबन्त-अव्ययकृदन्त — ‘having abandoned’

• yāsyāmaḥ: we shall go
• yāsyāmaḥ: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• anyatra: elsewhere
• anyatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Destination adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — ‘elsewhere’

• bhūtale: on the earth
• bhūtale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (petitioning Ambāvṛddhā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ambāvṛddhā-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brāhmaṇas, hands folded, speak firmly yet humbly before the Mother-goddess: ‘Grant grace, or we leave the city.’ The city gates and road outward are visible as a symbolic threat of departure.

Characters & Entities

• Ambāvṛddhā (addressed)
• Brāhmaṇas
• Pura (city)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A community’s stability depends on divine grace upheld through dhārmic relationship with the presiding sacred power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The city within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra / Ambāvṛddhā Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Seeking prasāda (grace) through supplication; the implied practice is devotional appeal following pūjā.