Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

ततश्च तौ महीपालौ तत्प्रभावादुभौ द्विजाः । गतौ च परमां सिद्धिं जन्ममृत्युविवर्जिताम्

Transliteration

tataśca tau mahīpālau tatprabhāvādubhau dvijāḥ | gatau ca paramāṃ siddhiṃ janmamṛtyuvivarjitām

Translation

ఆ తరువాత, హే బ్రాహ్మణులారా, ఆ (క్షేత్ర) ప్రభావంతో ఆ ఇద్దరు రాజులు జననమరణరహితమైన పరమసిద్ధిని పొందారు.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय/तदः)
• Form: काल/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: then/thereafter)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• tau: those two
• tau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• mahī-pālau: the two kings
• mahī-pālau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महीपालः = पृथिव्याः पालकः)

• tat-prabhāvāt: due to its power
• tat-prabhāvāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (हेतु/अपादान), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तस्य प्रभावः)

• ubhau: both
• ubhau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; विशेषण (द्विजाः/तौ)

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (पाठे बहुवचनम्, अर्थे द्विवचन-सामञ्जस्यं सम्भवति)

• gatau: went/attained
• gatau: Kriyā (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त; गत), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; विधेय (they went/attained)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• paramām: supreme
• paramām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (सिद्धिम्)

• siddhim: attainment/perfection
• siddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• janma-mṛtyu-vivarjitām: free from birth and death
• janma-mṛtyu-vivarjitām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक) + mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + vivarjita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; vi-√vṛj/√varj)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (सिद्धिम्); समासः (द्वन्द्वपूर्वक-तत्पुरुषभावः): ‘जनमृत्यू विवर्जिता’ = free from birth and death

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rātrinātha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (vocative ‘dvijāḥ’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two kings, radiant after worship/installation, ascend in a beam of light from the kṣetra; below, the twin shrines glow. A serene, liberation-themed culmination with sages witnessing.

Characters & Entities

• Mahīpāla (kings)
• Siddhi (supreme attainment)
• Janma-mṛtyu (birth and death)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Service to a sacred kṣetra—especially through building and consecration—can culminate in mokṣa, transcending saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Soma/Rātrinātha-associated sacred precinct within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, whose ‘prabhāva’ grants liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse states the spiritual fruit (mokṣa) arising from the kṣetra’s power and prior acts.