Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

स्कन्दात्तत्समनुप्राप्तमगस्त्येन महात्मना । पश्चादाचार्यभेदेन ह्यागमा बहवोऽभवन्

Transliteration

skandāttatsamanuprāptamagastyena mahātmanā | paścādācāryabhedena hyāgamā bahavo'bhavan

Translation

Cet enseignement fut reçu de Skanda par Agastya au grand esprit ; plus tard, par les divergences entre maîtres, de nombreux Āgama virent le jour.

Word by Word

• skandāt: from Skanda
• skandāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन — Masculine, Ablative (5th), Singular

• tat: that (teaching)
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Singular (referring to teaching/knowledge)

• samanuprāptam: having been obtained/received
• samanuprāptam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Predicative/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-anu-√prāp (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past passive participle, Neuter, Nominative, Singular (agreeing with tat)

• agastyena: by Agastya
• agastyena: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled (one)
• mahātmanā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Singular (agreeing with agastyena)

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (adverb of time)

• ācāryabhedena: due to difference among teachers
• ācāryabhedena: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ācārya + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle of emphasis/indeed)

• āgamāḥ: Āgamas/scriptures
• āgamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• bahavaḥ: many
• bahavaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural (agreeing with āgamāḥ)

• abhavan: came to be/arose
• abhavan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — Imperfect (Past), 3rd person, Plural

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha (as source of teaching)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A transmission tableau: Skanda as divine teacher bestowing a palm-leaf teaching to sage Agastya; behind them, branching streams of manuscripts symbolize many Āgamas arising from later teacher lineages.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Āgamas
• Ācāryas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred knowledge is transmitted through lineage; diversity of Āgamas reflects teacher-line variations while preserving a core Śaiva revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is doctrinal rather than geographical, but it appears within Kedārakhaṇḍa’s Kedāra-centered Śaiva teaching context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it explains scriptural transmission and the emergence of Āgamic traditions.