Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अथ ते ब्राह्मणा ज्ञात्वा सुशीलेन वसुन्धरा । देवतायतनार्थाय दत्ता तस्मै तपस्विने

Transliteration

atha te brāhmaṇā jñātvā suśīlena vasundharā | devatāyatanārthāya dattā tasmai tapasvine

Translation

پھر اُن برہمنوں نے یہ جان لیا کہ سُشیلا نے دیوتا کے آستانے کی تعمیر کے لیے اُس تپسوی کو زمین دان کی ہے؛ یہ سن کر اُن کے دل میں کھلبلی مچ گئی۔

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Discourse particle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/now)

• ते: those
• ते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural) — विशेषण (demonstrative)

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-भावकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive) — 'having known/realized'

• सुशीलेन: by/through Suśīla
• सुशीलेन: Sahakari/Karana (Instrument/Agent-instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुशील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• वसुन्धरा: the earth/land
• वसुन्धरा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुन्धरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• देवतायतनार्थाय: for the purpose of a deity’s shrine
• देवतायतनार्थाय: Sampradana (Purpose/Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः + तत्पुरुषः — 'देवतायाः आयतनस्य अर्थाय' (purpose)

• दत्ता: was given
• दत्ता: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — कर्मणि प्रयोगे 'was given'

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तपस्विने: to the ascetic
• तपस्विने: Sampradana (Recipient apposition/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, Nāgara-khaṇḍa māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of brāhmaṇas, hearing of Suśīla’s land-grant to the ascetic for a deity’s shrine, gather in agitation—hands raised, brows furrowed—near the marked boundary of the donated land.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Suśīla
• Tapasvin (ascetic)
• Devata-āyatana (temple)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Land offered for establishing a deity’s shrine is presented as a dhārmic act with lasting religious significance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya framework, but this single shloka does not name a specific tīrtha explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it references dāna (granting land) intended for devatāyatana-nirmāṇa (temple construction).