Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

अग्नौ पतितुमारेभे धैर्यमालंब्य भूपतिः । तस्मिन्नवसरे विप्रा मुनीनामपि शृण्वताम्

Transliteration

agnau patitumārebhe dhairyamālaṃbya bhūpatiḥ | tasminnavasare viprā munīnāmapi śṛṇvatām

Translation

Le roi se mit à tomber dans le feu, s’agrippant à la vaillance. En cet instant même, ô brāhmaṇas—tandis que les sages eux aussi écoutaient—

Word by Word

• अग्नौ: into/in the fire
• अग्नौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• पतितुम्: to fall (into)
• पतितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive)

• आरेभे: began
• आरेभे: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रभ् (धातु) उपसर्ग-आ
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• धैर्यम्: courage, firmness
• धैर्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धैर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• आलंब्य: having taken support of / relying on
• आलंब्य: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-लम्ब् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप् (gerund)

• भूपतिः: the king
• भूपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; (अवसरे इति विशेष्येण सह)

• अवसरे: occasion, moment
• अवसरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवसर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• विप्राः: brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• मुनीनाम्: of the sages
• मुनीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (also)

• शृण्वताम्: while (they) were listening
• शृण्वताम्: Sati-saptami/Genitive absolute (Circumstantial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (genitive absolute sense: 'while ... were listening')

Speaker

Narrator (addressing viprāḥ; continuation implied)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra (Setubandha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vipras/Brāhmaṇas (explicitly addressed: 'O brāhmaṇas')

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the climactic instant, the king, gripping courage, begins to enter the roaring fire as brāhmaṇas and sages look on, the air tense with impending transformation.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Pāṇḍya king)
• Agni
• brāhmaṇas (vipra)
• sages (muni)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Major choices become karmically weighty when made before holy witnesses; Purāṇic storytelling uses such moments to pivot toward dharma and grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu-kṣetra (Setukhaṇḍa) frames the episode as part of the sacred travel narrative of the Skanda Purana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescriptive rite is taught here; it narrates the commencement of entering fire in a witnessed setting.