Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

राजोवाच । उभाभ्यामथ हृष्टाभ्यां पूजितोऽयं महेश्वरः । तैः पद्मैः सत्त्वमास्थाय कृत्वा पूजां द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

rājovāca | ubhābhyāmatha hṛṣṭābhyāṃ pūjito'yaṃ maheśvaraḥ | taiḥ padmaiḥ sattvamāsthāya kṛtvā pūjāṃ dvijottamāḥ

Translation

พระราชาตรัสว่า “โอ้พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐ ทั้งสองนั้นยินดีในดวงใจแล้วจึงบูชาพระมหีศวรองค์นี้ ด้วยดอกบัวเหล่านั้น ตั้งมั่นในความบริสุทธิ์และความแน่วแน่ แล้วประกอบพิธีบูชาให้สำเร็จ”

Word by Word

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• उभाभ्याम्: by both (of them)
• उभाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उभ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-शब्दः, पुं/नपुं, तृतीया (3rd/करण), द्विवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connective/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (indeclinable: ‘then/now’)

• हृष्टाभ्याम्: by the two delighted
• हृष्टाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुं, तृतीया (3rd/करण), द्विवचन; ‘उभाभ्याम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पूजितः: was worshipped
• पूजितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘महेश्वरः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• महेश्वरः: Maheśvara (Śiva)
• महेश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (महान् ईश्वरः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• तैः: with those
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘पद्मैः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पद्मैः: with lotuses
• पद्मैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• सत्त्वम्: goodness, purity, courage
• सत्त्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• आस्थाय: having adopted, having taken refuge in
• आस्थाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable), ‘having resorted to/assuming’

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable), ‘having done’

• पूजाम्: worship
• पूजाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (द्विजानाम् उत्तमाः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे अपि (vocative sense)

Speaker

Rājā (the King)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākāla/Maheśvara-sthāna

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottamāḥ (best of Brahmins)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king narrates as the two devotees, joyful and composed, offer lotuses at the Śiva altar, lamps flickering, their faces serene with sattvic resolve.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara
• Mahākāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True worship is not only the external offering but also the inner disposition—sattva (purity and steadiness) that makes the act spiritually potent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Mahākāla/Maheśvara sacred setting within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the precise tīrtha-name is not specified in this verse alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing Śiva pūjā with lotus-flowers, undertaken with a sattvic (pure, disciplined) mindset.