Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

रामलेखविचित्रैस्तु विचित्रे ताम्रपट्टके । वाक्यानीमानि श्रूयंते शासने किल नारद

Transliteration

rāmalekhavicitraistu vicitre tāmrapaṭṭake | vākyānīmāni śrūyaṃte śāsane kila nārada

Translation

Ô Nārada, sur une merveilleuse charte de cuivre, ornée de lignes et de marques, on entend traditionnellement ces paroles mêmes comme l’édit du don royal.

Word by Word

• रामलेखविचित्रैः: with (letters) made variegated by Rama’s writing
• रामलेखविचित्रैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राम (प्रातिपदिक) + लेख (प्रातिपदिक) + विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करणे/साधने), बहुवचनम्; समासः—रामस्य लेखाः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + तैः विचित्रैः (कर्मधारय-भावः)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• विचित्रे: on/within the variegated (plate)
• विचित्रे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरणे), एकवचनम्

• ताम्रपट्टके: on the copper plate
• ताम्रपट्टके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताम्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पट्टक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरणे), एकवचनम्; समासः—ताम्रस्य पट्टकः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• वाक्यानि: sentences/words
• वाक्यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• इमानि: these
• इमानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• श्रूयन्ते: are heard/are recited
• श्रूयन्ते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमानकालः), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive)

• शासने: in the decree/inscription
• शासने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शासन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरणे), एकवचनम्

• किल: it is said/indeed
• किल: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किल (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (hearsay/indeed)

• नारद: O Narada
• नारद: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Brahmā (instructional narration to Nārada, inferred from vocative and dharma-charter context)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal court scene: a polished copper-plate charter (tāmrapaṭṭa) engraved with ornate lines; scribes and ministers present; a sage (Nārada) listening as the proclamation is read aloud.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• tāmra-paṭṭa (copper-plate grant)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is preserved through formal, publicly witnessed acts—here, the sacred legitimacy of land-gifts recorded in a charter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is the Dharmāraṇya setting and the dharmic institution of documented dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse points to the recited clauses of a copper-plate grant (śāsana) associated with donation, rather than a specific rite like snāna or japa.