Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

कथं सर्वं धरापृष्ठं ससमुद्रं निरीक्षितम् । स्वल्पेन वयसा तात विस्तरतो वद

Transliteration

kathaṃ sarvaṃ dharāpṛṣṭhaṃ sasamudraṃ nirīkṣitam | svalpena vayasā tāta vistarato vada

Translation

Wie konntest du die ganze Oberfläche der Erde—mitsamt den Ozeanen—schauen, obwohl du noch so jung bist, o Lieber? Sprich darüber ausführlich.

Word by Word

• katham: how
• katham: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण/interrogative adverb)

• sarvam: entire
• sarvam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘dharāpṛṣṭham’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• dharā-pṛṣṭham: the surface of the earth
• dharā-pṛṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (धरायाः पृष्ठम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• sa-samudram: together with the ocean
• sa-samudram: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ ‘सह’) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (समुद्रेण सह/समुद्रसहितम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘dharāpṛṣṭham’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• nirīkṣitam: seen/observed
• nirīkṣitam: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-īkṣ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, भूतकर्मणि/PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘seen/observed’

• svalpena: with little (small)
• svalpena: Karana (Instrument/Measure/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘vayasā’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• vayasā: by (your) age; at such an age
• vayasā: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vayas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• tāta: O dear one/son
• tāta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• vistarataḥ: in detail
• vistarataḥ: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तस्)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्/तस्-प्रत्ययान्त; क्रियाविशेषण/adverb)

• vada: tell/speak
• vada: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

An unnamed listener (likely a sage/interlocutor) questioning the muni

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Youthful brāhmaṇa narrator

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The disciple asks: how did you, though young, behold the whole earth with oceans? The teacher sits composed; behind them a symbolic globe/mandala of seas and lands appears as a visionary backdrop.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse prompts inquiry into the hidden spiritual means—tapas, mantra, or grace—by which extraordinary accomplishments occur.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named; the verse sets up a teaching about sacred travel and its spiritual cause.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it requests an explanatory teaching.