Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अथ मर्त्ये परित्यक्ते तेजसा तेन तत्क्षणात् । वैष्णवेन तुरीयेण भागेन द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

atha martye parityakte tejasā tena tatkṣaṇāt | vaiṣṇavena turīyeṇa bhāgena dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

就在那一刹那，那光辉以其威德令凡人之态顿然舍离——噢，最胜的二生者——凭借属于毗湿奴的四分之一圣分（其神圣之分），他超越而去。

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अथ)
• Form: Particle (निपात) ‘then’

• martye: in the mortal (state/body)
• martye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (मर्त्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; ‘in the mortal (body/world)’

• parityakte: when (it was) abandoned
• parityakte: Sati-saptamī (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-tyaj (परि+त्यज्-धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; agrees with martye; locative absolute sense

• tejasā: by radiance/energy
• tejasā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (तेजस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• tena: by that
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• tat-kṣaṇāt: immediately
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Kāla-viśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tat (तद्) + kṣaṇa (क्षण)
• Form: Ablative-based adverbial (अव्ययीभाव) ‘from that moment/instantly’; formed with tat + kṣaṇāt

• vaiṣṇavena: Vaiṣṇava (of Viṣṇu)
• vaiṣṇavena: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiṣṇava (वैष्णव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; qualifying bhāgena

• turīyeṇa: fourth
• turīyeṇa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: turīya (तुरीय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; ordinal ‘fourth’; qualifying bhāgena

• bhāgena: by a portion/share
• bhāgena: Karaṇa (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāga (भाग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• dvija-sattamāḥ: O best of Brahmins
• dvija-sattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (द्विज) + sattama (सत्तम)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural; तत्पुरुष: ‘among twice-born’ + ‘best’

Speaker

Narrator addressing the brāhmaṇas (dvijasattama) within the Māhātmya narration

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijasattamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The mortal body is left behind as a subtle radiant essence rises; above, a Viṣṇu-associated luminous realm or symbolic chakra-like crown-gate suggests the ‘fourth’ transcendent portion.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Dvija (brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma frames liberation as the return of a divine portion to its source, transcending mortality through sacred power (tejas).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding narrative situates this transcendence at the Sarayū tīrtha, associating the place with liberation and divine passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual instruction appears; the verse explains the theological mechanism of departure via a Vaiṣṇava ‘fourth portion’.