Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

शिल्पिनश्च समाहूयानेकांस्तत्र सहस्रशः । शोधयामास तां भूमिमधस्ताद्बहुविस्तृताम्

Transliteration

śilpinaśca samāhūyānekāṃstatra sahasraśaḥ | śodhayāmāsa tāṃ bhūmimadhastādbahuvistṛtām

Translation

Ngài triệu tập các nghệ nhân tại đó—nhiều vô kể, đến hàng ngàn—rồi bắt đầu dọn sạch và thanh tịnh mảnh đất ấy, đào sâu xuống phần nền rộng lớn bên dưới.

Word by Word

• śilpinaḥ: craftsmen, artisans
• śilpinaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śilpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन (कर्मपद)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• samāhūya: having summoned
• samāhūya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam + ā + √hū (हू/आह्वाने) (धातु) → samāhūya (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund)

• anekān: many
• anekān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aneka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; विशेषण (śilpinaḥ इत्यस्य)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• sahasraśaḥ: by the thousand, in thousands
• sahasraśaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (in thousands)

• śodhayāmāsa: caused to be cleaned, purified
• śodhayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śudh/śodh (शुध्/शोधने) (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative)

• tām: that
• tām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (bhūmim इत्यस्य)

• bhūmim: ground, land
• bhūmim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• adhastāt: from below, underneath
• adhastāt: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhastāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (below/underneath)

• bahu-vistṛtām: very widely spread/extended
• bahu-vistṛtām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + vistṛta (√stṛ/स्तृ + vi; कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (bahuṃ vistṛtā)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Thousands of artisans assemble with tools; the king oversees as earth is cleared, dust removed, and deep excavation begins—revealing older layers of the sacred ground.

Characters & Entities

• Śilpins (artisans)
• Kṣetra land (bhūmi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Restoring sacred places requires collective effort; physical cleansing of a kṣetra mirrors inner purification in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The obscured ādyatīrtha/liṅga-kṣetra being prepared for renewed worship and construction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Site-clearing and purification (śodhana) as a preliminary step to prāsāda construction and renewed tīrtha-function.