Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

शंसन्तो विस्मया विष्टास्तीर्थान्यायतनानि च । तस्मिन्क्षेत्रे द्विजांश्चैव तापसान्संशितव्रतान्

Transliteration

śaṃsanto vismayā viṣṭāstīrthānyāyatanāni ca | tasminkṣetre dvijāṃścaiva tāpasānsaṃśitavratān

Translation

ด้วยความพิศวงยิ่งนัก พวกเขากล่าวสรรเสริญท่าน้ำศักดิ์สิทธิ์และสถานศักดิ์สิทธิ์ทั้งหลาย; และในเขตศักดิ์สิทธิ์นั้นเอง ยังยกย่องพราหมณ์และดาบสผู้ทรงวัตรอันสำรวมอีกด้วย

Word by Word

• शंसन्तः: praising/describing
• शंसन्तः: Karta (Subject, participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शंस् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन; “praising/declaring”

• विस्मयाः: astonished
• विस्मयाः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विस्मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (agreeing with implied subject); “astonished”

• विष्टाः: immersed/entered
• विष्टाः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन; “entered/absorbed” (context: immersed)

• तीर्थानि: holy fords/pilgrimage spots
• तीर्थानि: Karman (Object of describing)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन (Accusative plural)

• आयतनानि: shrines/abodes
• आयतनानि: Karman (Object of describing)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन (Accusative plural)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction “and”)

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; सप्तमी; एकवचन (Locative singular: “in that”)

• क्षेत्रे: in the region/field
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन (Locative singular)

• द्विजान्: brāhmaṇas (twice-born)
• द्विजान्: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन (Accusative plural)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipāta (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (particle of emphasis: “indeed/just”)

• तापसान्: ascetics
• तापसान्: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन (Accusative plural)

• संशितव्रतान्: of strict vows
• संशितव्रतान्: Karman (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संशित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, सम्+शा/शि “to sharpen/discipline”) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying तापसान्/द्विजान्); “संशितं व्रतं येषाम्” (disciplined in vows)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta in the Tīrthamāhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moving tableau: the royal group, still awed, gestures toward multiple shrines and sacred waters; nearby stand serene ascetics with matted hair and staff, and brāhmaṇas with sacred thread and manuscripts; the kings offer folded hands in praise.

Characters & Entities

• tīrthas
• āyatanas (temples)
• brāhmaṇas
• tapasvins (ascetics)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy region is sanctified not only by waters and temples but also by vow-keeping ascetics and learned brāhmaṇas who embody dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse broadly glorifies the tīrthas and temples within the unnamed kṣetra being celebrated in Adhyāya 72.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed; the focus is on praising the tīrthas, shrines, and the dharmic community (brāhmaṇas and tapasvins).