Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

व्रह्मोवाच । व्रजध्वं भूतले शीघ्रं ममादेशादसंशयम् । यमादेशान्मनुष्येषु गन्तव्यमविकल्पितम्

Transliteration

vrahmovāca | vrajadhvaṃ bhūtale śīghraṃ mamādeśādasaṃśayam | yamādeśānmanuṣyeṣu gantavyamavikalpitam

Translation

Brahmā sprach: „Geht schnell zur Erde, auf meinen Befehl, ohne Zweifel. Unter Yamas Autorität müsst ihr unter die Menschen treten, ohne Zögern.“

Word by Word

• व्रह्मा: Brahmā
• व्रह्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रह्मन्/ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• व्रजध्वम्: go (you all)
• व्रजध्वम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• भूतले: on the earth
• भूतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• शीघ्रम्: quickly
• शीघ्रम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शीघ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb)

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (सर्वनाम)

• आदेशात्: from (my) command
• आदेशात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: असंशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb)

• यमादेशात्: from Yama's command
• यमादेशात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम-आदेश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (यमस्य आदेशः)

• मनुष्येषु: among humans
• मनुष्येषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• गन्तव्यम्: must be gone / should go
• गन्तव्यम्: Kriya (Predicative necessity/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (तव्यत्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय/आवश्यकता (to be gone/should go)

• अविकल्पितम्: undoubted, without alternative
• अविकल्पितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अविकल्पित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from वि+कल्प्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

Speaker

Brahmā

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Personified diseases (vyādhayaḥ) / agents under Yama’s jurisdiction

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, four-faced and radiant, issues a firm command to personified diseases/agents to descend swiftly to the earth; the human world is shown below as a distant sphere, emphasizing cosmic hierarchy and inevitability.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Yama (Dharmarāja)
• Manuṣyāḥ (humans)
• Rogāḥ (implied addressees)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering and mortality operate under dharma’s governance (Yama), reinforcing accountability and the inevitability of karmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it contributes to the chapter’s larger tīrtha narrative rather than naming a location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it describes divine administration over the human realm.