Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

वाङ्मात्रेण हि विप्रस्य भिद्यते सकलं जगत् । ते यूयं गुरवोऽस्माकं विश्वकारणकारकाः । प्रसादपरमा नित्यं भवंतु भुवनेश्वराः

Transliteration

vāṅmātreṇa hi viprasya bhidyate sakalaṃ jagat | te yūyaṃ guravo'smākaṃ viśvakāraṇakārakāḥ | prasādaparamā nityaṃ bhavaṃtu bhuvaneśvarāḥ

Translation

Chỉ bằng lời nói của một Bà-la-môn, toàn thể thế gian có thể chuyển động và biến đổi. Vì vậy, chư vị—những bậc đạo sư tôn kính của chúng con—thật là những đấng tạo nên các nhân duyên định hình vũ trụ. Nguyện chư vị, bậc chúa tể của cõi đời, luôn lấy ân điển làm tối thượng và mãi ban phúc lành.

Word by Word

• vāk: speech
• vāk: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; सन्धौ ‘वाङ्’

• mātreṇa: by mere measure/just by
• mātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle)

• viprasya: of a Brahmin
• viprasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• bhidyate: is split, is shattered
• bhidyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhid (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• sakalam: entire, whole
• sakalam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• jagat: world
• jagat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• te: those/you (honorific)
• te: Sambodhana/Prathama (Addressed/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (pronoun)

• yūyam: you (plural)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उभयलिङ्ग (pronoun), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• guravaḥ: teachers, gurus
• guravaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• asmākam: of us, our
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उभयलिङ्ग (pronoun), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• viśvakāraṇakārakāḥ: agents/causes of the universe’s causation
• viśvakāraṇakārakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-श्रृङ्खला (‘विश्वस्य कारणम्’ → ‘कारणस्य कारकाः’/‘कारण-कारकाः’)

• prasādaparamāḥ: having grace as supreme
• prasādaparamāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक) + parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थः (‘प्रसादः एव परमो येषाम्’/‘प्रसाद-परमाः’)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kāla-adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: ‘always’)

• bhavantu: may (they) be
• bhavantu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative/benedictive command), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• bhuvaneśvarāḥ: lords of the world
• bhuvaneśvarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvana (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘भुवनस्य ईश्वराः’)

Speaker

Devas (collectively), addressing the sages/gurus (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of sages seated in a sacred grove near a tīrtha; their spoken blessing radiates as visible waves shaping the world; supplicants bow, hands folded, seeking prasāda.

Characters & Entities

• Vipra (Brāhmaṇa)
• Guravaḥ (Teachers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honor the guru and the brāhmaṇa, recognizing vāk-śakti (the sacred power of speech) as a force that shapes reality when aligned with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse functions as a reverential preface within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the immediate focus is on the authority of sages rather than naming a single tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the implied practice is guru-vandana (reverent honoring of teachers/sages) and seeking their prasāda (blessing).