Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मोवाच । मज्जन्माभूद्भगवतो नाभिपंकजकोशतः । स्वकालपरिमाणेन प्रबुद्धस्य जगत्पतेः

Transliteration

brahmovāca | majjanmābhūdbhagavato nābhipaṃkajakośataḥ | svakālaparimāṇena prabuddhasya jagatpateḥ

Translation

Brahmā sprach: „Meine Geburt geschah aus dem Kelch des Lotos am Nabel des erhabenen Herrn, des Meisters der Welten, als Er nach Seinem eigenen Maß der Zeit erwachte.“

Word by Word

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mat: my
• mat: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; सन्ध्यन्तरगतं: मज्जन्म = मत् + जन्म

• janma: birth
• janma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• abhūt: was/occurred
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bhagavataḥ: of the Lord
• bhagavataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• nābhi: navel
• nābhi: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nābhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषे पूर्वपदम् (nābhi-paṅkaja-kośa)

• paṅkaja: lotus
• paṅkaja: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṅkaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग (lotus)

• kośataḥ: from the calyx/sheath
• kośataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kośa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन; nābhi-paṅkaja-kośataḥ = from the sheath/calyx of the navel-lotus

• sva: own
• sva: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासाङ्ग; स्व = own

• kāla: time
• kāla: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासाङ्ग

• parimāṇena: by the measure of (his) own time
• parimāṇena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parimāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; sva-kāla-parimāṇena

• prabuddhasya: of the awakened
• prabuddhasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-budh (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• jagatpateḥ: of the Lord of the world
• jagatpateḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat-pati (प्रातिपदिक; जगत् + पति)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Brahmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu as Padmanābha reclining on Śeṣa in the cosmic ocean; from His navel rises a lotus with Brahmā seated, just awakening to creation.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Bhagavān (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa)
• Jagatpati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creation is rooted in the Supreme Lord; even Brahmā’s origin is dependent on the divine source.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides cosmological context within the broader māhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a theological statement about origin and divine time.