Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

पित्रैवमुक्तो व्यासेन शुकः पुत्रस्तदा द्विजाः । रामसेतुं महापुण्यं गन्धमादनपर्वतम्

Transliteration

pitraivamukto vyāsena śukaḥ putrastadā dvijāḥ | rāmasetuṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ gandhamādanaparvatam

Translation

Ainsi instruit par son père Vyāsa, Śuka, son fils—ô deux-fois-nés—se mit en route vers le très méritoire Rāmasetu et le mont Gandhamādana.

Word by Word

• पित्रा: by (his) father
• पित्रा: Karana (करण/Instrument/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb) ‘thus’

• उक्तः: spoken to, addressed
• उक्तः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject in passive construction)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; धातु: वच् (उच्यते)

• व्यासेन: by Vyāsa
• व्यासेन: Karana (करण/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

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

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (काल/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• द्विजाः: O twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (8th/Vocative), बहुवचन

• राम-सेतुम्: Rāma’s bridge (Rāmasetu)
• राम-सेतुम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम (प्रातिपदिक) + सेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (रामस्य सेतुः)

• महा-पुण्यम्: greatly meritorious
• महा-पुण्यम्: Visheshana (विशेषण of रामसेतुम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महच्च तत् पुण्यम्)

• गन्धमादन-पर्वतम्: the Gandhamādana mountain
• गन्धमादन-पर्वतम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धमादन (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (गन्धमादन-नामकः पर्वतः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Varuṇa’s account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmasetu (Setubandha) and Gandhamādana

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘dvijāḥ’ (addressed audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śuka, carrying a water-pot and staff, departs after Vyāsa’s words; the composition juxtaposes a southern ocean bridge (Rāmasetu) and a distant snow mountain (Gandhamādana), suggesting a vast sacred map.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Śuka
• Rāmasetu
• Gandhamādana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Obedience to the guru/father leads the seeker to sanctified places where inner purification is accelerated.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmasetu (Setu) and the Gandhamādana sacred mountain locale.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies undertaking pilgrimage as instructed; the specific rite (snāna) is detailed in adjacent verses.