Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीसूत उवाच । भोभोस्तपोधनाः सर्वे नैमिषारण्यवासिनः । यावद्रामधनुष्कोटिचक्रतीर्थमुखानि वः

Transliteration

śrīsūta uvāca | bhobhostapodhanāḥ sarve naimiṣāraṇyavāsinaḥ | yāvadrāmadhanuṣkoṭicakratīrthamukhāni vaḥ

Translation

Śrī Sūta dit : Ô vous tous, trésors d’ascèse, habitants de Naimiṣāraṇya, jusqu’ici vous ont été exposés les récits commençant par le Dhanuṣkoṭi de Rāma et le Cakra-tīrtha.

Word by Word

• श्रीसूतः: Śrī Sūta
• श्रीसूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक) + सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः “venerable Sūta”

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्ष), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचन

• भोः: O!
• भोः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भोः (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-निपातः (vocative particle)

• भोः: O!
• भोः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भोः (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-निपातः (repetition for emphasis)

• तपोधनाः: O ascetics (rich in austerity)
• तपोधनाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) + धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः “whose wealth is austerity”

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा, बहुवचन; qualifies “नैमिषारण्यवासिनः”

• नैमिषारण्यवासिनः: dwellers of Naimiṣāraṇya
• नैमिषारण्यवासिनः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिषारण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सप्तमी) “dwelling in Naimiṣāraṇya”

• यावत्: as far as; up to
• यावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सर्वनाम)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक “as far as/so long as” (introduces extent)

• रामधनुष्कोटिचक्रतीर्थमुखानि: the chief places such as Rāma-dhanuṣkoṭi and Cakratīrtha
• रामधनुष्कोटिचक्रतीर्थमुखानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम (प्रातिपदिक) + धनुष्कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + चक्रतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः/समुच्चयार्थः—“Rāma-dhanuṣkoṭi, Cakratīrtha, and other ‘mukhas’ (chief places)”

• वः: to you; for you
• वः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/4th), बहुवचन; enclitic “for you/your”

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhanuṣkoṭi; Cakra-tīrtha (referenced)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Tapodhanāḥ Naimiṣāraṇya-vāsinaḥ (ascetic sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In Naimiṣāraṇya, Sūta addresses ascetics seated in a forest amphitheater; a scroll-like visual ‘route’ shows Dhanuṣkoṭi and Cakra-tīrtha as named waypoints, indicating the narrative has covered them up to this point.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Naimiṣāraṇya
• Rāma
• Dhanuṣkoṭi
• Cakra-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic narrator frames tīrtha-glories as a disciplined transmission to ascetic sages, emphasizing attentive listening to sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dhanuṣkoṭi and Cakra-tīrtha are referenced as already narrated within the Setu-khaṇḍa sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a narrative transition introducing/recapping tīrtha accounts.