Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

गोविंदस्वामिनामा तु ब्राह्मणो वेदपारगः । दुर्भिक्षोपहतां दृष्ट्वा तदानीं स निजां पुरीम्

Transliteration

goviṃdasvāmināmā tu brāhmaṇo vedapāragaḥ | durbhikṣopahatāṃ dṛṣṭvā tadānīṃ sa nijāṃ purīm

Translation

Il y avait alors un brāhmaṇa nommé Govindasvāmin, parfaitement versé dans les Veda. Voyant en ce temps sa propre cité frappée par la famine, il…

Word by Word

• गोविन्द-स्वामि-नाम: named Govindasvāmin
• गोविन्द-स्वामि-नाम: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोविन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘named Govindasvāmin’; qualifies ‘ब्राह्मणः’

• तु: and/now
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; subject (implied continuation)

• वेद-पारगः: versed in the Vedas
• वेद-पारगः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + पारग (प्रातिपदिक ‘one who has gone to the far shore’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘ब्राह्मणः’

• दुर्भिक्ष-उपहताम्: stricken by famine
• दुर्भिक्ष-उपहताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्भिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + उपहत (कृदन्त; उप+√हन् क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; object of ‘दृष्ट्वा’; (understood noun: पुरीम्)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) क्त्वा (gerund)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय; ‘having seen’

• तदानीम्: at that time
• तदानीम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदानीम् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; subject (of following verb, not present in excerpt)

• निजाम्: his own
• निजाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘पुरीम्’

• पुरीम्: city
• पुरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; object (of implied verb: ‘left/went to’ etc.)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Govindasvāmin, dignified and austere, surveys a famine-struck city—empty granaries, distressed families—his face showing resolve to act; Vedic manuscripts and a staff/waterpot indicate learning and renunciation-readiness.

Characters & Entities

• Govindasvāmin
• brāhmaṇa
• Vedas
• city (purī)
• famine (durbhikṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vedic learning is paired with social responsibility; the wise respond to public suffering with dharmic action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A precise tīrtha is not named in this verse, but the episode remains situated in the Yamunā-region context established earlier.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this line; it introduces Govindasvāmin and the famine-stricken setting.