Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

एकविंशतिमे वर्षे यौवराज्यप्रदायकम् । राजानमथ कैकेयी वरद्वयमयाच त

Transliteration

ekaviṃśatime varṣe yauvarājyapradāyakam | rājānamatha kaikeyī varadvayamayāca ta

Translation

En la vingt et unième année de Rāma, lorsque le roi allait conférer la dignité d’héritier, Kaikeyī s’approcha du souverain et demanda deux grâces.

Word by Word

• ekaviṃśatime: in the twenty-first
• ekaviṃśatime: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekaviṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्; क्रमवाचक-विशेषणम् (ordinal adjective)

• varṣe: year
• varṣe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्

• yauvarājyapradāyakam: (him) who grants the heir-apparent-ship
• yauvarājyapradāyakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yauvarājya (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्; कर्मविशेषणम्

• rājānam: the king
• rājānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connective/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अनुक्रम/अनन्तरार्थक-निपातः (then/thereupon)

• kaikeyī: Kaikeyī
• kaikeyī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaikeyī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम्

• varadvayam: two boons
• varadvayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्

• ayāca: asked
• ayāca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yāc (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकारः (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• ta: (unclear: likely ‘him/that’)
• ta: Anukta (unclear)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (पाठभ्रंश/अपूर्णपदं) सम्भाव्यं ‘tam/te’ इति; सर्वनाम-रूपम्

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages in Brāhma Khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ayodhyā palace interior: Kaikeyī approaches Daśaratha at the moment of planned yuvarāja-abhiṣeka; attendants, royal emblems, and a tense stillness before the request.

Characters & Entities

• Kaikeyī
• Rāma
• Daśaratha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power and succession are unstable; dharma is tested when desire and promises (boons) collide.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets narrative context within the Dharmāraṇya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is narrative (itihāsa-style) rather than prescriptive.