Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

यथा वृत्तिः पुरा दत्ता यथा संरक्षिता त्वया । तस्माच्चिन्तय राजेन्द्र स्थानं वर्तनसंभवम् । उपायं येन मर्यादा वृत्तिस्तस्मात्सुखेन तु

Transliteration

yathā vṛttiḥ purā dattā yathā saṃrakṣitā tvayā | tasmāccintaya rājendra sthānaṃ vartanasaṃbhavam | upāyaṃ yena maryādā vṛttistasmātsukhena tu

Translation

ดังที่ครั้งก่อนเคยประทานเบี้ยเลี้ยงยังชีพไว้ และดังที่ท่านได้พิทักษ์รักษาไว้—ฉะนั้น ข้าแต่ราชาเหนือราชา โปรดใคร่ครวญสถานที่อันเหมาะและระเบียบจัดวาง ที่จะทำให้การยังชีพดำรงสืบต่อไปได้ จงวางอุบายให้มรยาทา (ขอบเขตแห่งธรรม) และทานบำรุงนั้นตั้งมั่นจากแหล่งเดิมโดยผาสุก ไร้ความขัดข้อง

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (correlative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध/उपमानार्थ-सम्बन्धसूचक (correlative adverb: 'as/just as')

• vṛttiḥ: livelihood; maintenance
• vṛttiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• dattā: given
• dattā: Karma (predicate participle; action on vṛtti)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धाातु) + kta; dattā (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत्), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'given' (past passive participle)

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (correlative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धसूचक (correlative adverb)

• saṃrakṣitā: protected
• saṃrakṣitā: Karma (predicate participle; action on vṛtti)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-√rakṣ (धातु) + kta; saṃrakṣitā (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'protected/preserved'

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक, द्वितीयपुरुष-संबोधनार्थ; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Reason/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (therefore/from that)

• cintaya: consider; think
• cintaya: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √cint (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• rājendra: O king of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; राज्ञाम् इन्द्रः (king among kings)

• sthānam: place
• sthānam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vartana-saṃbhavam: arising from livelihood/means of subsistence
• vartana-saṃbhavam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vartana (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: वर्तनस्य सम्भवः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; sthānam इति विशेषण

• upāyam: means; method
• upāyam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग-रूप; साधनार्थे (by which)

• maryādā: boundary; rule; propriety
• maryādā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maryādā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vṛttiḥ: livelihood; maintenance
• vṛttiḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tasmāt: thereby; from that
• tasmāt: Hetu (Reason/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे/ततः (from that/thereby)

• sukhena: easily; with comfort
• sukhena: Karana (Manner/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbially: 'with ease')

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोध/अन्वयार्थक निपात (particle: 'indeed/but')

Speaker

Unspecified (advising the king on sustaining tīrtha-related endowments)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gartā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king in council contemplates how to preserve an ancient endowment and boundary-law for a sacred site; scribes, boundary markers, and palm-leaf records are present, suggesting orderly governance in service of dharma.

Characters & Entities

• rājendra
• maryādā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustained by continuity: grants must be protected through clear rules (maryādā) and stable institutional arrangements.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse is administrative; within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya it supports the functioning of a tīrtha settlement rather than naming the site here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it prescribes policy—establish a stable source/place for ongoing vṛtti and enforce maryādā.