Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

पद्मासनं विधायाथ न्यस्यात्मानं तथात्मनि । ब्रह्मद्वारेण तं पश्चात्तेजोरूपं व्यसर्जयत्

Transliteration

padmāsanaṃ vidhāyātha nyasyātmānaṃ tathātmani | brahmadvāreṇa taṃ paścāttejorūpaṃ vyasarjayat

Translation

แล้วเขาจัดกายเป็นปัทมาสนะ วางอาตมันไว้ในอาตมัน; ครั้นแล้วจึงปล่อยปราณอันเป็นรัศมีนั้นออกทางพรหมทวาร (ยอดกระหม่อม)

Word by Word

• padma-āsanam: lotus posture
• padma-āsanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (पद्म) + āsana (आसन)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘lotus’ + ‘seat/posture’ = ‘lotus-posture’

• vidhāya: having assumed/made
• vidhāya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vi-dhā (वि+धा-धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्/क्त्वार्थ) ‘having arranged/assumed’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अथ)
• Form: Particle (निपात) ‘then’

• nyasya: having placed
• nyasya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni-as (नि+अस्/न्यस्-धातु, ‘to place’)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्/क्त्वार्थ) ‘having placed’

• ātmānam: himself / the self
• ātmānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (आत्मन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (तथा)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय) ‘thus/so’

• ātmani: in the self
• ātmani: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (आत्मन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• brahma-dvāreṇa: through the Brahma-gate
• brahma-dvāreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (ब्रह्मन्) + dvāra (द्वार)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘of Brahman’ + ‘gate/door’

• tam: that (it/him)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Kāla-viśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (पश्चात्)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय) ‘afterwards’

• tejo-rūpam: the form of light
• tejo-rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (तेजस्) + rūpa (रूप)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘of light/energy’ + ‘form’

• vyasarjayat: he released/sent forth
• vyasarjayat: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-sṛj (वि+सृज्-धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta to the sages in a Māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a quiet riverbank, the yogin sits in padmāsana, spine erect, eyes half-closed; a subtle column of light rises from the crown as the life-breath departs as radiant tejas.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmaṇa
• Brahmadvāra (Brahmarandhra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma honors disciplined yogic composure—posture, inner fixation, and conscious departure—as a noble end aligned with liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The act occurs at the Sarayū tīrtha context (from the surrounding verses), implying the riverbank as a liberation-conducive sacred space.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yogic procedure: sitting in padmāsana, internalizing the self, and releasing prāṇa through the brahmarandhra (Brahma-door).