Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अहमास शुकः पूर्वमस्मिन्नायतने शुभे । देव्याः पश्चिमदिग्भागे कुलायकृतसंश्रयः

Transliteration

ahamāsa śukaḥ pūrvamasminnāyatane śubhe | devyāḥ paścimadigbhāge kulāyakṛtasaṃśrayaḥ

Translation

முன்பு இந்தப் புனித ஆலயத்தில் நான் ஒரு சுகன் (கிளி) ஆக இருந்தேன்; தேவியின் மேற்கு பக்கத்தில் கூடு கட்டி அங்கே தங்கினேன்.

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• आस: was
• आस: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘was’

• शुकः: a parrot
• शुकः: Pradhana-visheshya (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अहम् इत्यस्य विधेय

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Desha-kala-adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्वम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषण—(आयतने)

• आयतने: in the shrine/abode
• आयतने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• शुभे: auspicious
• शुभे: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण—(आयतने)

• देव्याः: of the goddess
• देव्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• पश्चिमदिग्भागे: in the western part (direction)
• पश्चिमदिग्भागे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पश्चिम + दिक् + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘पश्चिम-दिक्-भाग’ = western side/quarter-part

• कुलायकृतसंश्रयः: having a shelter made as a nest
• कुलायकृतसंश्रयः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुलाय + कृत + संश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘कुलाय-कृत’ (nest-made) + ‘संश्रय’ (having shelter); विशेषण—(शुकः/अहम्)

Speaker

Rājā (revealing past-life memory)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devī-āyatana (name not specified)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottamāḥ (brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king recounts a past life as a green parrot nesting on the western side of the Devī’s shrine; the sanctum wall, niches, and a tree or beam supporting the nest are visible.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Temple (āyatana)
• Śuka (parrot)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even simple proximity and residence near a deity’s shrine can become spiritually consequential across lifetimes within Purāṇic sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Devī āyatana (Goddess shrine) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; the exact toponym is not stated in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it sets the scene for explaining how repeated movement around the shrine became pradakṣiṇā.