Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

ततो द्रुतं विनिष्क्रांतो विष्णुवाक्येन स द्विजाः । द्वादशाब्दप्रमाणस्तु यौवनस्य समीपगः

Transliteration

tato drutaṃ viniṣkrāṃto viṣṇuvākyena sa dvijāḥ | dvādaśābdapramāṇastu yauvanasya samīpagaḥ

Translation

Darauf trat er, durch Viṣṇus Wort angetrieben, rasch hervor, o Zweimalgeborene; und obgleich er erst zwölf Jahre zählte, stand er doch schon nahe der Jugend, reif über sein Alter hinaus.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘thereupon/then’

• drutam: quickly
• drutam: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: druta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverbial accusative): ‘quickly’

• viniṣkrāntaḥ: having come out
• viniṣkrāntaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-niṣ-√kram (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृतान्त (past passive participle/क्त): पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘having gone out/come forth’

• viṣṇu-vākyena: by Viṣṇu’s word/command
• viṣṇu-vākyena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘Viṣṇu’s word’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dvijāḥ: O twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative sense/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• dvādaśa-abda-pramāṇaḥ: measured as twelve years (old)
• dvādaśa-abda-pramāṇaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + abda (प्रातिपदिक) + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-भाव: ‘of twelve years as measure’); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the subject)

• tu: indeed, but
• tu: Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): contrast/emphasis ‘indeed/but’

• yauvanasya: of youth
• yauvanasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yauvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• samīpagaḥ: near (to it), approaching
• samīpagaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (उपपद: ‘going/being near’); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijās (twice-born listeners)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A youthful boy emerges swiftly at the utterance of Viṣṇu’s command, his body bearing an uncanny near-youthful radiance despite being only twelve; sages look on in astonishment.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When divine instruction is accepted, spiritual obstacles fall away and readiness for the higher goal manifests swiftly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it concludes a narrative consequence of following Viṣṇu’s word.