Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सप्तमस्तु सहस्राक्षः सांप्रतं वर्ततेऽत्र यः । एकसप्ततिसंवर्तचतुर्दशदिने विधेः

Transliteration

saptamastu sahasrākṣaḥ sāṃprataṃ vartate'tra yaḥ | ekasaptatisaṃvartacaturdaśadine vidheḥ

Translation

یہاں موجودہ چکر میں ساتواں اِندر—سہسرآکش (ہزار آنکھوں والا)—حاکم ہے۔ اے برہما! اُس کی مدت ایک ‘سمورت’ کی گنتی میں، جو اکہتر کی پیمائش سے ہے، چودہ دن شمار ہوتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• सप्तमः: the seventh
• सप्तमः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of sahasrākṣaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (particle)

• सहस्राक्षः: the thousand-eyed one (Indra)
• सहस्राक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र-अक्ष (सहस्र + अक्ष; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (सहस्रम् अक्षाणि यस्य)

• सांप्रतम्: at present
• सांप्रतम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सांप्रतम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• वर्तते: exists/continues
• वर्तते: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

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

• एकसप्ततिसंवर्तचतुर्दशदिने: on the fourteenth day of the seventy-one saṃvarta (cycle)
• एकसप्ततिसंवर्तचतुर्दशदिने: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-सप्तति-संवर्त-चतुर्दश-दिन (एक + सप्तति + संवर्त + चतुर्दश + दिन; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (एकसप्ततिसंवर्तस्य चतुर्दशदिने)

• विधेः: of Brahmā/the Ordainer
• विधेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style; exact speaker not in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: vidheḥ (addressed as Brahmā) / dvijāḥ (narrative audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau of the ‘seventh Indra’ presiding over a cosmic court; a segmented wheel shows 71 divisions (manvantara count) and a highlighted 14-day segment; Sūta narrates to sages.

Characters & Entities

• Sahasrākṣa (Indra)
• Vidhī (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are praised within a cosmic frame: even divine rulership (Indra’s office) is time-bound, urging humility and dharmic living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse supports the Tīrthamāhātmya chapter’s cosmological teaching; the specific tīrtha is not named in the snippet.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None here; the verse is doctrinal, describing divine offices and measures of time.