Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

एतच्चतुष्टयं नृणां धर्मकामार्थमोक्षदम् । यः शृणोति नरो भक्त्तया पठेद्वापि समाहितः

Transliteration

etaccatuṣṭayaṃ nṛṇāṃ dharmakāmārthamokṣadam | yaḥ śṛṇoti naro bhakttayā paṭhedvāpi samāhitaḥ

Translation

இந்த நால்வகைத் தொகுதி மனிதர்க்கு தர்மம், காமம், அர்த்தம், மோக்ஷம் ஆகியவற்றை அளிக்கும். பக்தியுடன் கேட்பவனும், ஒருமனத்துடன் பாராயணம் செய்வவனும் அதன் பலனை அடைவான்.

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• catuṣṭayam: set of four
• catuṣṭayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nṛṇām: of men / for people
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• dharma-kāma-artha-mokṣa-dam: granting dharma, desire, wealth, and liberation
• dharma-kāma-artha-mokṣa-dam: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma + kāma + artha + mokṣa + da (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—धर्मादीन् ददाति इति (giver of dharma, kāma, artha, mokṣa)

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

• śṛṇoti: hears
• śṛṇoti: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• paṭhet: should recite / would read
• paṭhet: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Addition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भावे

• samāhitaḥ: composed / attentive
• samāhitaḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (धातु) + kta (कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘collected/concentrated’

Speaker

Brahmā (in Brahma–Nārada dialogue; implied by section context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A recitation assembly: a reader chants the māhātmya while listeners sit focused; above them, symbolic icons of dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa appear as four radiant emblems.

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Artha
• Kāma
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional listening and recitation are themselves powerful sādhana, capable of supporting all four goals of life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya stream within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (hearing) and pāṭha (recitation) performed with bhakti and mental focus (samādhi-like attention).