Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

वम्री च नोदितास्माभिर्जागराय तवेश्वर । ततश्चापूर्वमभवच्छिरश्छिन्नं बभूव ते

Transliteration

vamrī ca noditāsmābhirjāgarāya taveśvara | tataścāpūrvamabhavacchiraśchinnaṃ babhūva te

Translation

"Et la fourmi, poussée par nous pour Te réveiller, ô Seigneur, s'exécuta. Alors survint un événement sans précédent : Ta tête fut tranchée ; en vérité, elle fut coupée."

Word by Word

• vamrī: the ant (vamrī)
• vamrī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vamrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• na: our / of us
• na: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अत्र ‘नः’ इत्यस्य रूपम् (enclitic pronoun) — अस्मद्-षष्ठी बहुवचन (Gen. pl. ‘of us/our’)

• uditā: was spoken/urged
• uditā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु) + udita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘was addressed/was spoken (to)’

• asmābhiḥ: by us
• asmābhiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• jāgarāya: for awakening / to wake (you)
• jāgarāya: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थ (for the purpose of)

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• īśvara: O Lord
• īśvara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — ‘thereupon/then’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• apūrvam: unprecedented
• apūrvam: Karta (Predicate-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• abhavat: happened / became
• abhavat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• chinnam: cut off
• chinnam: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chid (धातु) + chinna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (śiraḥ)

• babhūva: became
• babhūva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator within the Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (exact speaker not identifiable from this single verse excerpt)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara/Viṣṇu (addressed as ‘īśvara’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tiny ant at the Lord’s side; devas gesturing urgently; the Lord’s yogic composure disrupted; a dramatic, symbolic severing of the head—rendered as a mythic, non-gory transformation moment.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Lord)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even seemingly small actions can become instruments in a larger divine unfolding; the Purāṇic narrative highlights the mysterious (apūrva) working of fate and dharma around the Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (the sacred Dharmāraṇya/‘Forest of Dharma’ setting) within the Brāhma Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is stated in this verse; it is a narrative moment describing an extraordinary event.