Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

दाशकन्यां पुरः कृत्वा संशयं परमं गताः । विभवेन समायुक्ता निजेन द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

dāśakanyāṃ puraḥ kṛtvā saṃśayaṃ paramaṃ gatāḥ | vibhavena samāyuktā nijena dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

Đặt cô gái chài đi trước, những bậc tối thắng trong hàng “nhị sinh” lên đường, lòng bị nỗi nghi hoặc lớn chi phối, nhưng vẫn đầy đủ tư lương và phương tiện của chính mình.

Word by Word

• dāśakanyām: the fisherman's daughter
• dāśakanyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दाशस्य कन्या)

• puraḥ: in front
• puraḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘पुरः’ (in front)

• kṛtvā: having placed/made
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + ktvā (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वा/absolutive): ‘कृत्वा’ = ‘having made/placed’

• saṃśayam: doubt
• saṃśayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• paramam: great; extreme
• paramam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण

• gatāḥ: having come to; having fallen into
• gatāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; ‘गताः’ = ‘having gone/come to’

• vibhavena: with wealth; with resources
• vibhavena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• samāyuktāḥ: endowed; furnished
• samāyuktāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yuj (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘समायुक्ताः’ = ‘endowed/connected’

• nijena: their own
• nijena: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; विशेषण

• dvijasattamāḥ: best of the Brahmins
• dvijasattamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (द्विजानां सत्तमाः)

Speaker

Narrator (third-person narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (addressed within narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fisher-girl leads, walking ahead with confident stride; behind her, well-dressed brāhmaṇas carry supplies, their faces showing doubt and curiosity; the path narrows toward a concealed water-body.

Characters & Entities

• dāśakanyā (fisher-girl)
• dvijasattama (elite brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the learned may doubt until they witness tīrtha-prabhāva; humility allows guidance from unexpected persons.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The group is en route to the chapter’s jalāśaya tīrtha, whose power will be demonstrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it describes the pilgrimage party’s arrangement and mindset before reaching the tīrtha.