Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

शब्दस्पर्शौ तथा रूपं रसो गंधस्तथैव च । प्रकृतिश्च विकारश्च सदसत्कारणं तथा

Transliteration

śabdasparśau tathā rūpaṃ raso gaṃdhastathaiva ca | prakṛtiśca vikāraśca sadasatkāraṇaṃ tathā

Translation

وكان هناك الصوت واللمس، وكذلك الصورة والطعم والرائحة؛ وكانت «براكṛتي» (Prakṛti) والتحوّل، وكذلك الأسباب المتعلّقة بالوجود واللاوجود—كل تلك المبادئ كانت حاضرة.

Word by Word

• śabda-sparśau: sound and touch
• śabda-sparśau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक) + sparśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), द्विवचन

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारार्थक-अव्यय (likewise)

• rūpam: form
• rūpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• rasaḥ: taste
• rasaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• gandhaḥ: smell
• gandhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• tathā: also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (also)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• prakṛtiḥ: primordial nature
• prakṛtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vikāraḥ: modification, change
• vikāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• sat-asat-kāraṇam: cause of being and non-being
• sat-asat-kāraṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + asat (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः: सत्-असत्-सम्बद्धं कारणम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (likewise/also)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced from Purāṇic frame; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An allegorical tableau: five subtle sense-objects appear as luminous glyphs or deities (sound as conch/veena-wave, touch as breeze, form as radiant orb, taste as nectar bowl, smell as flower); Prakṛti as a veiled cosmic mother; Vikāra as shifting patterns; sat/asat causes as twin pillars.

Characters & Entities

• Prakṛti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse portrays the sacred assembly as a meeting-point of metaphysical principles, implying that true dharma integrates sensory experience with insight into primal nature and causality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya is the sanctified context; the verse is cosmological rather than topographical.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal listing of principles (tattvas/tanmātras).