Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

सर्वेषां नागराणां तु भावजा देवता स्मृता । सा सार्धाष्टद्विपंचाशद्गोत्राणां कुलदेवता

Transliteration

sarveṣāṃ nāgarāṇāṃ tu bhāvajā devatā smṛtā | sā sārdhāṣṭadvipaṃcāśadgotrāṇāṃ kuladevatā

Translation

அனைத்து நாகரருக்கும் பாவஜா தேவி அதிதேவதையாக நினைக்கப்படுகிறாள்; அவளே சாறே அட்டப்பஞ்சாசத் கோத்திரங்களின் குலதேவி.

Word by Word

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठीविभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• नागराणाम्: of the Nāgaras
• नागराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठीविभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थकः (but/indeed)

• भावजा: born of Bhāva (Śiva)
• भावजा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भावजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative 1st/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• देवता: goddess/deity
• देवता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• स्मृता: is remembered/considered
• स्मृता: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (Past Passive Participle/क्त); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• सार्धाष्टद्विपञ्चाशत्-गोत्राणाम्: of the (fifty-two and a half) gotras
• सार्धाष्टद्विपञ्चाशत्-गोत्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सार्ध (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + अष्ट (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + द्वि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + पञ्चाशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + गोत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठीविभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), बहुवचनम् (Plural); द्विगुसमासः (numeral compound)

• कुलदेवता: family-deity
• कुलदेवता: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (family’s deity)

Speaker

Narrative voice (contextual Purāṇic narrator; explicit speaker not in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhārā-tīrtha (within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra narrative frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Purāṇic frame; implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Nāgara community assembly at a shrine: elders reciting gotras while a central Devī (Bhāvajā) is honored with lamps and flowers; the kṣetra landscape hinted in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Nāgara
• Bhāvajā Devatā
• gotra
• kuladevatā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and worship are framed not only personally but also as a lineage-based dharma centered on the kuladevatā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra/Dhārātīrtha māhātmya stream within Nāgara Khaṇḍa, tying the site to Nāgara community worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it identifies Bhāvajā as kuladevatā for many gotras, implying her worship as a community duty.