Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

भोभो रघुकुलश्रेष्ठ द्विजोऽहं मन्दसन्ततिः । दरिद्रो ह्यसहायश्च भार्यार्थे वरयामि ताम्

Transliteration

bhobho raghukulaśreṣṭha dvijo'haṃ mandasantatiḥ | daridro hyasahāyaśca bhāryārthe varayāmi tām

Translation

«O, o, du Bester aus dem Geschlecht der Raghu! Ich bin ein Brahmane von bescheidener Herkunft, arm und ohne Beistand. Um einer Gattin willen bitte ich um ihre Hand.»

Word by Word

• bho bho: O! O!
• bho bho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bho (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-निपात (vocative particle), पुनरुक्ति

• raghu-kula-śreṣṭha: best of the Raghu dynasty
• raghu-kula-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raghu (प्रातिपदिक) + kula (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘best of the Raghu lineage’

• dvijaḥ: a Brahmin
• dvijaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• manda-santatiḥ: of humble lineage
• manda-santatiḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manda (प्रातिपदिक) + santati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास: ‘one of poor lineage/low family’

• daridraḥ: poor
• daridraḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daridra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle): emphasis/indeed

• asahāyaḥ: without support
• asahāyaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (उपसर्ग/नञ्) + sahāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभाव (negation): ‘without help’

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

• bhāryā-arthe: for (obtaining) a wife
• bhāryā-arthe: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘for the purpose of a wife’ (अर्थे = ‘for the sake of’)

• varayāmi: I choose/seek (in marriage)
• varayāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (वृञ्/वृ—‘to choose’) (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tām: her
• tām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (demonstrative pronoun)

Speaker

Vahni (Agni) in the guise of a brāhmaṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa (Narmadā sphere)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The disguised brāhmaṇa speaks with folded hands, emphasizing poverty and lack of support, while the king listens—tested between compassion and social pride.

Characters & Entities

• Vahni (Agni)
• Raghu-kula (Raghu dynasty)
• Duryodhana (addressed as raghu-kulaśreṣṭha in-text)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A dharmic ruler is tested by requests from the vulnerable; honoring a brāhmaṇa’s plea is framed as a crucial ethical measure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the Revā/Narmadā-centered Mahātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual is prescribed; the implied dharma is to respond appropriately to a brāhmaṇa’s request (often connected with dāna and protection).