Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

धनं धान्यं तथा वैश्यः शूद्रः सुखमवाप्नुयात् । यः श्लोकपादं शृणुयाद्विष्णुलोकं स गच्छति

Transliteration

dhanaṃ dhānyaṃ tathā vaiśyaḥ śūdraḥ sukhamavāpnuyāt | yaḥ ślokapādaṃ śṛṇuyādviṣṇulokaṃ sa gacchati

Translation

ฉันนั้นแล ไวศยะย่อมได้ทรัพย์และธัญญาหาร ส่วนศูทรย่อมได้ความสุข ผู้ใดได้สดับแม้เพียงหนึ่งบาทของโศลกนี้ ผู้นั้นย่อมไปสู่โลกของพระวิษณุ (วิษณุโลก)

Word by Word

• धनम्: wealth
• धनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

• धान्यम्: grain
• धान्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धान्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• वैश्यः: a vaiśya
• वैश्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular)

• शूद्रः: a śūdra
• शूद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular)

• सुखम्: happiness
• सुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

• अवाप्नुयात्: would obtain
• अवाप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• श्लोकपादम्: a quarter-verse
• श्लोकपादम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्लोक + पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (श्लोकस्य पादः)

• शृणुयात्: should hear
• शृणुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• विष्णुलोकम्: Viṣṇu's world
• विष्णुलोकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (विष्णोः लोकः)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); निर्देशक-सर्वनाम (correlative pronoun)

• गच्छति: goes
• गच्छति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking interlocutor (ṛṣi/kingly audience typical of māhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred assembly at a tīrtha: a reciter chants Purāṇic verses; listeners of varied social stations sit with folded hands; above, Viṣṇuloka is hinted—radiant Vaikuṇṭha with Viṣṇu’s emblematic presence.

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśya
• Śūdra
• Viṣṇu
• Viṣṇuloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even minimal contact with sacred speech—hearing a single pāda—carries transformative power, culminating in divine attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The promise is embedded in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa: hearing even a quarter-verse of the māhātmya/Purāṇic narration.