Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अन्धकोऽपि समाराध्य देवदेवं चतुर्मुखम् । अमरत्वं ततो लेभे यावच्चन्द्रार्कतारकम्

Transliteration

andhako'pi samārādhya devadevaṃ caturmukham | amaratvaṃ tato lebhe yāvaccandrārkatārakam

Translation

அந்தகனும் தேவர்களின் தேவனான நான்முகப் பிரம்மனை முறையாக வழிபட்டு, சந்திரன்–சூரியன்–நட்சத்திரங்கள் நிலைக்கும் வரை நீடிக்கும் அமரத்துவத்தைப் பெற்றான்।

Word by Word

• अन्धकः: Andhaka
• अन्धकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्धक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘Andhaka’

• अपि: also; even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-अव्यय (particle) — ‘also/even’

• समाराध्य: having worshipped; having propitiated
• समाराध्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Conjunctive participle/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√राध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having propitiated/worshipped’

• देवदेवम्: the god of gods
• देवदेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘god of gods’

• चतुर्मुखम्: four-faced (Brahmā)
• चतुर्मुखम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘देवदेवम्’/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — बहुव्रीहिः ‘having four faces’ (ब्रह्मा)

• अमरत्वम्: immortality
• अमरत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमरत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘immortality’

• ततः: then; thereupon
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/हेतुवाचक-अव्यय (adverb) — ‘then/thereupon’

• लेभे: obtained
• लेभे: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — ‘obtained’

• यावत्: as long as; until
• यावत्: Kālavadhāraṇa (Temporal limit/कालावधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधि-वाचक-अव्यय (limitative particle) — ‘as long as/until’

• चन्द्रार्कतारकम्: (as long as) the moon, sun, and stars (endure)
• चन्द्रार्कतारकम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Extent/अवधि-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक) + तारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — द्वन्द्वसमासः ‘moon, sun, and stars’ (अवधि-निर्देशः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Andhaka performs intense worship before four-faced Brahmā; Brahmā grants a boon of long-lasting immortality measured by celestial bodies.

Characters & Entities

• Andhaka
• Brahmā (Caturmukha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense worship can yield extraordinary boons, but Purāṇic narratives imply that power without dharma can become a cause of downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse occurs within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework, but the specific tīrtha is not named in this standalone shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; it generally indicates ‘samārādhana’—devotional propitiation (worship/tapas) of the deity.