Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

विश्वामित्र उवाच । एतदर्थं पुरा पृष्टो भर्तृयज्ञश्च नागरैः । नष्टवंशकृते राजन्यथा पृष्टोऽस्मि वै त्व या

Transliteration

viśvāmitra uvāca | etadarthaṃ purā pṛṣṭo bhartṛyajñaśca nāgaraiḥ | naṣṭavaṃśakṛte rājanyathā pṛṣṭo'smi vai tva yā

Translation

วิศวามิตรกล่าวว่า: สำหรับเรื่องนี้ ภรรตฤยัชญะก็เคยถูกเหล่านาคระสอบถามเกี่ยวกับกรณีที่เชื้อสายสูญหาย—เช่นเดียวกับที่ท่านได้ถามข้าพเจ้าในขณะนี้ ข้าแต่พระราชา

Word by Word

• viśvāmitraḥ: Vishvamitra
• viśvāmitraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśvāmitra (विश्वामित्र)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• uvāca: Said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच्)
• Form: Lit Lakara (Perfect), Prathama Purusha (3rd), Singular

• etadartham: For this purpose
• etadartham: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: etadartha (एतदर्थ)
• Form: Adverbial Compound

• purā: Formerly/In the past
• purā: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (पुरा)
• Form: Adverb of time

• pṛṣṭaḥ: Asked
• pṛṣṭaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛṣṭa (पृष्ट)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular (Past Passive Participle)

• bhartṛyajñaḥ: Bhartriyajna (Name)
• bhartṛyajñaḥ: Karma (Object in Passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛyajña (भर्तृयज्ञ)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ca: And
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: Conjunction

• nāgaraiḥ: By the Nagaras
• nāgaraiḥ: Karta (Agent in Passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāgara (नागर)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• naṣṭavaṃśakṛte: For the sake of lost lineage
• naṣṭavaṃśakṛte: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: naṣṭavaṃśakṛte (नष्टवंशकृते)
• Form: Adverbial usage

• rājan: O King
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (राजन्)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• yathā: Just as
• yathā: Comparison
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (यथा)
• Form: Adverb

• pṛṣṭaḥ: Asked
• pṛṣṭaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛṣṭa (पृष्ट)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular (Past Passive Participle)

• asmi: I am
• asmi: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस्)
• Form: Lat Lakara (Present), Uttama Purusha (1st), Singular

• vai: Indeed
• vai: Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (वै)
• Form: Particle

• tvayā: By you
• tvayā: Karta (Agent in Passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (युष्मद्)
• Form: Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

Viśvāmitra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ānarta (and addressed ‘rājan’—a kingly interlocutor within the frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viśvāmitra, radiant and austere, addresses a king; behind him a vignette-like ‘flashback’ panel shows Bhartṛyajña being questioned by Nāgaras; manuscripts and sacrificial implements indicate authoritative dharma setting.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra
• Bhartṛyajña
• Nāgaras

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is clarified through precedent and remembered instruction, not merely personal opinion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative remains within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya setting of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa, though this verse is about precedent rather than place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription yet—this verse introduces an earlier consultation that will ground the method for purifying one of unknown lineage.