Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

यो यं काममभि ध्याय तमर्चयति मानवः । अवश्यं समवाप्नोति यद्यपि स्यात्सुदुर्लभम्

Transliteration

yo yaṃ kāmamabhi dhyāya tamarcayati mānavaḥ | avaśyaṃ samavāpnoti yadyapi syātsudurlabham

Translation

மனிதன் எந்த ஆசையைத் தியானித்து அதே நோக்கத்துடன் வழிபடுகிறானோ, அது மிக அரிதானதாயினும் அவன் நிச்சயமாகப் பெறுவான்।

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• yam: which
• yam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (Accusative singular; which/whom)

• kāmam: desire, wish
• kāmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (Masculine accusative singular; desire)

• abhi: towards, upon
• abhi: Avyaya (Preverb/उपसर्ग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: abhi (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग/निपात (preverb/particle; towards, upon)

• dhyāya: having meditated on
• dhyāya: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dhyai (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त, अव्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (absolutive; having meditated/thought)

• tam: him/that
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (Accusative singular; him/that)

• arcayati: worships
• arcayati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √arc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Present indicative, 3rd sg, active; worships)

• mānavaḥ: a man
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता (Masculine nominative singular)

• avaśyam: certainly
• avaśyam: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: avaśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावे नपुंसक-रूपेण क्रियाविशेषणवत् (used adverbially; certainly)

• samavāpnoti: attains
• samavāpnoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ava-√āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Present indicative, 3rd sg, active; attains)

• yadi: if
• yadi: Avyaya (Conjunction/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तबोधक (conditional particle; if)

• api: even
• api: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle; even)

• syāt: might be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Potential/Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Optative, 3rd sg, active; may be)

• su-durlabham: very hard to obtain
• su-durlabham: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter nom./acc. singular; very difficult to obtain)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from adhyāya flow)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sāvitrī-pada (kāmya-siddhi)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee meditates with a stated wish, then offers worship at the footprint; subtle symbols of the desired boon appear (e.g., child, harvest, healing light) without cluttering the sacred focus.

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī (Devī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worship joined with focused intention (saṅkalpa) is portrayed as spiritually potent, yielding even difficult-to-achieve aims.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sāvitrī-associated tīrtha/spot being praised in Nāgarakhaṇḍa, Adhyāya 192.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abhidhyāna (intent meditation) followed by arcana/pūjā (worship) as the means to attain the desired fruit.