Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

एतस्मात्कारणाद्दूरात्समभ्येत्य प्रदक्षिणाम् । करोम्यस्या द्विजश्रेष्ठा देवतायाः समाहितः

Transliteration

etasmātkāraṇāddūrātsamabhyetya pradakṣiṇām | karomyasyā dvijaśreṣṭhā devatāyāḥ samāhitaḥ

Translation

ด้วยเหตุนี้เอง โอ้พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐ แม้จากแดนไกลข้าพเจ้าก็มา และด้วยจิตตั้งมั่นทำประทักษิณาเวียนรอบพระเทวีองค์นี้

Word by Word

• एतस्मात्: from this
• एतस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुँ/नपुं; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; ‘from this’

• कारणात्: from (this) cause
• कारणात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; ‘from the reason/cause’

• दूरात्: from far away
• दूरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; adverbial ablative ‘from afar’

• समभ्येत्य: having approached
• समभ्येत्य: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+अभि+इ (धातु) → समभ्येत्य (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययभावे कृदन्त; क्त्वान्त (gerund) ‘having come/approached’

• प्रदक्षिणाम्: circumambulation
• प्रदक्षिणाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रदक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• करोमि: I do, I perform
• करोमि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अस्याः: of this
• अस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘of this (goddess)’

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: O best Brahmins
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय ‘O best of the twice-born’

• देवतायाः: of the deity
• देवतायाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• समाहितः: composed, attentive
• समाहितः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्+आ+धा (धातु) → समाहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘collected, composed, attentive’

Speaker

Rājā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija-śreṣṭhas (brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king arriving from a distant road with attendants, then walking in reverent clockwise circles around a Devī shrine, hands folded, gaze steady; brāhmaṇas witness the act.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Pradakṣiṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tīrtha practice combines travel/approach with inner concentration; devotion becomes complete when the mind is steady (samāhita).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Devī shrine in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the stress is on the sanctity that draws pilgrims even from distant places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform pradakṣiṇā of the Goddess, approaching the shrine even from afar, with a focused mind.