Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

सप्तर्षय इति श्रेष्ठां यो जपेत्तु समाहितः । ऋचं रोगविनाशाय स रोगैः परि मुच्यते

Transliteration

saptarṣaya iti śreṣṭhāṃ yo japettu samāhitaḥ | ṛcaṃ rogavināśāya sa rogaiḥ pari mucyate

Translation

若有人摄心专注，为灭除疾病而诵念以“saptarṣayaḥ …”起首之殊胜ṛc偈，则此人尽脱诸病。

Word by Word

• सप्तर्षयः: the seven sages
• सप्तर्षयः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त + ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; मन्त्रपदत्वेन उद्धृतम्

• इति: thus
• इति: Vacana-paryavasana (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—उद्धरणार्थक

• श्रेष्ठाम्: excellent
• श्रेष्ठाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘ऋचम्’ इत्यस्य

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• जपेत्: should recite
• जपेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—विरोध/विशेष (particle: but/indeed)

• समाहितः: composed, attentive
• समाहितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + धा (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भावे; विशेषण—‘यः’

• ऋचम्: a ṛc (Vedic verse)
• ऋचम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋच्/ऋचा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• रोगविनाशाय: for the destruction of disease
• रोगविनाशाय: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रोग + विनाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; प्रयोजन/हेतु (for the destruction of disease)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• रोगैः: from diseases
• रोगैः: Apadana (Ablative sense/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रोग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; अपादानार्थे (from diseases)

• परि: completely
• परि: Upasarga (Preverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परि (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय—उपसर्ग (preverb) ‘मुच्यते’ इत्यस्य

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from tīrthamāhātmya instructional style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sick devotee sits near the tirtha, eyes closed in concentration, reciting the ṛc beginning ‘saptarṣayaḥ’; a subtle aura of the Seven Sages appears, and the body regains vitality.

Characters & Entities

• Saptarṣi (Seven Sages)
• Ṛc (Vedic verse)
• Roga (disease)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Focused recitation (samādhāna in japa) at a sacred place is depicted as restoring wholeness and removing affliction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha praised in Adhyāya 36 of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the excerpt does not name it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa of a Vedic ṛc beginning “saptarṣayaḥ …” with the intention of destroying disease.