Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32
Devanagari script
गते बहुतिथे काले मरुभूमौ मुने मया । दृष्टो ब्राह्मणदायाद एकदा कश्चिदागतः
Transliteration
gate bahutithe kāle marubhūmau mune mayā | dṛṣṭo brāhmaṇadāyāda ekadā kaścidāgataḥ
Translation
Après qu’un très long temps se fut écoulé, ô sage, dans ce désert, je vis un jour arriver là un certain descendant d’un brāhmaṇa.
Word by Word
gatewhen (it was) gone/passed
gate:
Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
TypeVerb
Root√gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
Formक्त-कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; locative absolute with ‘kāle’ = ‘when time had passed’
bahutitheafter many days (lit. many lunar days)
bahutithe:
Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootbahu (प्रातिपदिक) + tithi (प्रातिपदिक)
Formतत्पुरुष (बह्व्यः तिथयः यस्मिन्); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; qualifying ‘kāle’
kāleat a time
kāle:
Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootkāla (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; with ‘gate’ (locative absolute)
maru-bhūmauin the desert
maru-bhūmau:
Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootmaru (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
Formतत्पुरुष (मरौ भू्मिः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन
muneO sage
mune:
Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootmuni (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन
mayāby me
mayā:
Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootasmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formतृतीया (3rd), एकवचन
dṛṣṭaḥwas seen
dṛṣṭaḥ:
Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
Formक्त-कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; passive participle ‘seen’ (predicate)
brāhmaṇa-dāyādaḥan heir/descendant of a Brahmin
brāhmaṇa-dāyādaḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootbrāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + dāyāda (प्रातिपदिक)
Formतत्पुरुष (ब्राह्मणस्य दायादः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; apposition to implied person seen
ekadāonce
ekadā:
Kala (Time/काल)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootekadā (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (time adverb)
kaścitsomeone
kaścit:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkaścit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; indefinite pronoun
āgataḥhaving come; arrived
āgataḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeVerb
Root√gam (धातु) + ā- (उपसर्ग) → āgata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
Formक्त-कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; qualifying ‘kaścit’
Speaker
Rākṣasa
Skanda Dialogue
Listener: Muni
Visual Art Cues
Scene: A vast empty desert; after ages of solitude, a traveler appears on the horizon—identified as a brāhmaṇa’s descendant—approaching the narrator and the sage’s remembered scene.
Characters & Entities
B
Brāhmaṇa-dāyāda (brāhmaṇa’s descendant)D
Desert (maru-bhūmi)FAQs
Purāṇic stories often introduce a pivotal encounter to reveal dharma and adharma through lived examples.
No tirtha is praised in this verse; it sets the scene in a maru-bhūmi (desert).
None; it is narrative setup for the next description of conduct.