Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

एतत्सारस्वतं नाम व्याख्यानमतिबुद्धिदम् । यः पठेच्छ्रणुयाद्वापि मतिस्तस्य विवर्द्धते । सरस्वत्याः प्रसादेन सत्यमेतन्म योदितम्

Transliteration

etatsārasvataṃ nāma vyākhyānamatibuddhidam | yaḥ paṭhecchraṇuyādvāpi matistasya vivarddhate | sarasvatyāḥ prasādena satyametanma yoditam

Translation

คำอธิบายนี้มีนามว่า “สารัสวตะ” และประทานปัญญาอันแหลมคม ผู้ใดสวดอ่านหรือแม้เพียงได้สดับฟัง ความเข้าใจของผู้นั้นย่อมเจริญขึ้น ด้วยพระกรุณาแห่งพระสรัสวตี นี่คือความจริงที่ข้าพเจ้าได้ประกาศไว้

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshya (Head term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — demonstrative 'this'

• सारस्वतम्: pertaining to Sarasvatī
• सारस्वतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सारस्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — adjective qualifying एतत्/व्याख्यानम्

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (Naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (नामनिर्देशक) — 'called/named'

• व्याख्यानम्: explanation/discourse
• व्याख्यानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याख्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Nominative singular (subject/apposition)

• अतिबुद्धिदम्: bestowing great intelligence
• अतिबुद्धिदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक) < √दा (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — adjective 'giving great intellect'; उपपद-तत्पुरुष/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अतिबुद्धिं ददाति)

• यः: whoever
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — relative pronoun

• पठेत्: should read
• पठेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पठ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 'should read'

• शृणुयात्: should listen
• शृणुयात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √श्रु (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 'should hear/listen'

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प) — disjunctive particle 'or'

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-भाव) — particle 'also/even'

• मतिः: intellect/understanding
• मतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• विवर्धते: increases
• विवर्धते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√वृध् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 'increases' (ātmanepada)

• सरस्वत्याः: of Sarasvatī
• सरस्वत्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• प्रसादेन: by the grace
• प्रसादेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रसाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• सत्यम्: true
• सत्यम्: Kriya-anvaya (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — predicate adjective 'true'

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — 'this'

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Agent in passive/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• उदितम्: spoken/declared
• उदितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-√वद्/√वच् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — past participle 'said/uttered'

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from immediate chapter context; explicit in 174.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata-vyākhyāna (phalaśruti)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇas/dvijas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of brāhmaṇas listens as the narrator proclaims the phalaśruti; Sarasvatī appears above as a blessing presence, bestowing a radiant light at the forehead (buddhi).

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Sārasvata (teaching/exposition)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śravaṇa (hearing) and pāṭha (recitation) of sacred narrative are themselves dharmic practices that refine intellect under Sarasvatī’s blessing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra tīrtha-context, while explicitly glorifying the ‘Sārasvata’ teaching connected to Sarasvatī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recitation (paṭha) or attentive hearing (śravaṇa) of this Sārasvata exposition for the increase of understanding.