Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

अनादिमध्यपर्य्यन्ता ज्ञानैश्वर्यसम न्विता । या देवी पूज्यते देवैर्वरं तस्या वृणोम्यहम्

Transliteration

anādimadhyaparyyantā jñānaiśvaryasama nvitā | yā devī pūjyate devairvaraṃ tasyā vṛṇomyaham

Translation

ஆதி, நடு, முடிவு இன்றியவளும், ஞானமும் ஐஸ்வர்யமும் நிறைந்தவளும், தேவர்களாலும் பூஜிக்கப்படுபவளுமான அந்த தேவியிடமே நான் வரம் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறேன்.

Word by Word

• अनादिमध्यपर्यन्ता: without beginning, middle, or end
• अनादिमध्यपर्यन्ता: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि (प्रातिपदिक) + मध्य (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्यन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्व/समासः (आदि-मध्य-पर्यन्त); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘having (no) beginning, middle, or end’ qualifying ‘देवी’

• ज्ञानैश्वर्यसमन्विता: endowed with knowledge and sovereignty
• ज्ञानैश्वर्यसमन्विता: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + ऐश्वर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (ज्ञान-ऐश्वर्याभ्यां समन्विता); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘endowed with knowledge and lordship’

• या: who
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — relative pronoun ‘who’

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘goddess’

• पूज्यते: is worshipped
• पूज्यते: Kriya (Passive action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग — ‘is worshipped’

• देवैः: by the gods
• देवैः: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — agent in passive ‘by the gods’

• वरम्: a boon
• वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया, एकवचन — object of ‘वृणोमि’

• तस्याः: from her/of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — ‘of her’ (from her)

• वृणोमि: I choose
• वृणोमि: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘I choose’

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘I’

Speaker

Viṣakanyakā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śakrāṇī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary depiction of the supreme Goddess: infinite, radiant, bearing symbols of knowledge and sovereignty; devas in attendance worship her, while the speaker chooses her as the boon-giver.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Deva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seek refuge in the Supreme—whose reality transcends time and limitation—rather than in secondary powers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is theological within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter; it praises the Devī rather than naming a particular geographic tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it highlights pūjā (worship) as performed even by the gods, implying devotional worship as the norm.