Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

रुद्रस्यानुचरौ राजन्नंदी भृंगी शुभाननौ । पूर्वदृष्टाश्च ताः कन्याः कथयामासतुः शिवम्

Transliteration

rudrasyānucarau rājannaṃdī bhṛṃgī śubhānanau | pūrvadṛṣṭāśca tāḥ kanyāḥ kathayāmāsatuḥ śivam

Translation

Ô roi, Nandī et Bhṛṅgī—serviteurs de Rudra, au visage de bon augure—rapportèrent à Śiva ce qu’ils avaient vu jadis au sujet de ces jeunes filles.

Word by Word

• रुद्रस्य: of Rudra
• रुद्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अनुचरौ: two attendants
• अनुचरौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• नन्दी: Nandin
• नन्दी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भृङ्गी: Bhṛṅgī
• भृङ्गी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• शुभाननौ: having auspicious faces (both)
• शुभाननौ: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘अनुचरौ’)

• पूर्वदृष्टाः: previously seen
• पूर्वदृष्टाः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व + √दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ताः: those (f.)
• ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• कन्याः: maidens
• कन्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• कथयामासतुः: they two related/told
• कथयामासतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ्/कथय् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• शिवम्: Śiva
• शिवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing the King)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nandī and Bhṛṅgī, radiant attendants of Rudra, stand before Śiva and narrate what they previously witnessed—mysterious maidens—setting a mythic inquiry in motion.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Śiva
• Nandī
• Bhṛṅgī
• kanyāḥ (maidens)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotees and divine attendants serve dharma by truthfully reporting what concerns sacred order to Śiva, the guardian of cosmic balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is Dharmāraṇya, a sacred forest-region presented as a dharma-centered holy landscape in this section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it introduces a report being delivered to Śiva.