Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अथागत्य स राजेंद्रस्तेनैव सह मंत्रिणा । कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां पुरस्तस्याः प्रदक्षिणाम्

Transliteration

athāgatya sa rājeṃdrastenaiva saha maṃtriṇā | kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśyāṃ purastasyāḥ pradakṣiṇām

Translation

پھر وہ راجندر اسی وزیر کے ساتھ وہاں آیا، اور کرشن پکش کی چتُردشی کو اُس مقدس حضور کے سامنے پردکشنا (طواف) کیا۔

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (then/now)

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā + gam (धातु) → āgatya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); अर्थः ‘आगम्य’ (having come)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘सः’ = he

• rājendraḥ: the king (lord of kings)
• rājendraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (rājñām indraḥ) = king of kings

• tena: with him
• tena: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; तृतीया एकवचन; ‘तेन’ = with him/by him

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (indeed/only)

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक-उपपद (with)

• maṃtriṇā: with the minister
• maṃtriṇā: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचन; ‘मन्त्रिन्’ = minister/counsellor

• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: in the dark fortnight
• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (kṛṣṇaḥ sa pakṣaḥ) = in the dark fortnight

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; तिथिवाचक; ‘चतुर्दशी’ = fourteenth lunar day

• puraḥ: in front of
• puraḥ: Desha-adhikarana (Locative of place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (in front/before)

• tasyāḥ: of her / of that (place)
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन; ‘तस्याः’ = of her/of that (f.)

• pradakṣiṇām: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; ‘प्रदक्षिणा’ = circumambulation

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king arrives with his minister at a shrine and performs pradakṣiṇā before a revered goddess/deity presence on the dark-fortnight fourteenth day; lamps and night-sky suggest caturdaśī.

Characters & Entities

• Caturdaśī
• Kṛṣṇapakṣa
• Rājendra
• Mantrin
• Pradakṣiṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When rulers themselves undertake tīrtha-devotion with humility and timing, it models dharma for society and magnifies the kṣetra’s fame.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya kṣetra centered on a feminine sacred presence (‘tasyāḥ’) is implied; the precise name is not contained in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā on kṛṣṇapakṣa-caturdaśī is highlighted as the chosen observance.