Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 149

Devanagari script

वसंतको विचित्रास्तु कथयामास वै कथाः । तत्कथाश्रवणेनैव तां रात्रिं स निनाय वै

Transliteration

vasaṃtako vicitrāstu kathayāmāsa vai kathāḥ | tatkathāśravaṇenaiva tāṃ rātriṃ sa nināya vai

Translation

Darauf erzählte Vasantaka viele wunderbare Geschichten; und allein durch das Hören dieser Erzählungen verbrachte er jene ganze Nacht.

Word by Word

• वसंतकः: Vasantaka (name)
• वसंतकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसंतक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• विचित्राः: various, wonderful
• विचित्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; ‘various/wondrous’ (qualifying कथाः)

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/विरोधार्थक-निपात (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• कथयामास: narrated
• कथयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘told/narrated’

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• कथाः: stories
• कथाः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• तत्: that, those
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध (genitive sense as prior member in compound)

• कथा-श्रवणेन: by listening to the stories
• कथा-श्रवणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘कथानां श्रवणम्’

• एव: only, indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (restrictive particle: ‘only/just’)

• ताम्: that
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; रात्रिम् विशेषयति

• रात्रिम्: night
• रात्रिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

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

• निनाय: spent, passed
• निनाय: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘spent/led (the night)’

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vasantaka, a companion-storyteller, speaks animatedly by a small fire while the king and soldiers listen; the night passes in attentive listening rather than sleep.

Characters & Entities

• Vasantaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kathā-śravaṇa (attentive listening to sacred or meaningful narratives) steadies the mind and turns time into meritorious remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu (Setubandha/Rāmeśvara) is the overarching sacred landscape of this section, though the verse focuses on narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite; the implied practice is kathā-śravaṇa as a dharmic, mind-purifying activity.