Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

मंत्रैराथर्वणैर्विप्राः क्षुरिकासूक्तसंभवैः । छित्त्वाच्छित्त्वा स्वमांसानि मंत्रपूतानि भक्तितः

Transliteration

maṃtrairātharvaṇairviprāḥ kṣurikāsūktasaṃbhavaiḥ | chittvācchittvā svamāṃsāni maṃtrapūtāni bhaktitaḥ

Translation

کْشُرِکا سوکت سے پیدا ہونے والے آتھروَنی منتر وں کے ذریعے، برہمنوں نے بھکتی کے ساتھ اپنے ہی گوشت کے حصّے بار بار کاٹے—جو منتر سے پاکیزہ ہو چکے تھے—اور انہیں یَجْن کے عمل میں نذر کیا۔

Word by Word

• maṃtraiḥ: with mantras
• maṃtraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṃtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण) बहुवचन

• ātharvaṇaiḥ: Atharvan (Atharvavedic)
• ātharvaṇaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātharvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying maṃtraiḥ)

• viprāḥ: brahmins
• viprāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन

• kṣurikāsūkta-saṃbhavaiḥ: arising from the Kṣurikā hymn
• kṣurikāsūkta-saṃbhavaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣurikā (प्रातिपदिक) + sūkta (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (kṣurikāsūktāt saṃbhavāḥ = arising from the Kṣurikā-sūkta); विशेषण (qualifying maṃtraiḥ)

• chittvā: having cut
• chittvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: chid (धातु) → chittvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive): 'having cut'

• chittvā: having cut repeatedly
• chittvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: chid (धातु) → chittvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (iterative: 'cutting again and again')

• sva-māṃsāni: their own flesh pieces
• sva-māṃsāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (स्वस्य मांसानि)

• maṃtra-pūtāni: purified by mantras
• maṃtra-pūtāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maṃtra (प्रातिपदिक) + pūta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (mantraiḥ pūtāni = purified by mantras); विशेषण (qualifying svamāṃsāni)

• bhaktitaḥ: out of devotion
• bhaktitaḥ: Hetu (Cause/Motive/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): 'out of devotion/with devotion'

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in māhātmya style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a yajña-śālā beside a blazing kuṇḍa, brāhmaṇas chant Atharvanic mantras; with ritual knives they make repeated symbolic/depicted cuts, offering mantra-consecrated portions into the fire—an intense, dramatic moment of ugra devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Atharva Veda
• Kṣurikā-sūkta
• Vipra (Brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion (bhakti) and mantra-dīkṣā are portrayed as transformative, sanctifying even severe austerity when directed to a sacred purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred kuṇḍa (tīrtha-pool) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya context, from which divine manifestations will arise in the following verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Use of Atharvanic mantras (Kṣurikā-sūkta) in a sacrificial context, preparing offerings as mantra-purified for the homa.