Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

भोभो वैमानिकश्रेष्ठ मुहूर्तं प्रतिपालय । अगस्तिर्नाम विप्रोऽहं मित्रावरुणसंभवः

Transliteration

bhobho vaimānikaśreṣṭha muhūrtaṃ pratipālaya | agastirnāma vipro'haṃ mitrāvaruṇasaṃbhavaḥ

Translation

«Hé là, ô le meilleur de ceux qui montent le vimāna, attends un instant. Je suis le brāhmane nommé Agastya, né de Mitra et de Varuṇa.»

Word by Word

• bhoḥ: O!
• bhoḥ: Sambodhana (Address particle/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhoḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बोधन-निपात)

• bhoḥ: O!
• bhoḥ: Sambodhana (Address particle/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhoḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बोधन-निपात), पुनरुक्ति (emphatic)

• vaimānika-śreṣṭha: O best of the aerial beings
• vaimānika-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Addressee/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaimānika (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: 'वैमानिकः (देवयानिकः) श्रेस्ठः'

• muhūrtam: for a moment
• muhūrtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muhūrta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• pratipālaya: wait; hold on
• pratipālaya: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati-√pāl (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• agastiḥ: Agastya
• agastiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agasti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• nāma: by name
• nāma: Sambandha (Appositive marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (नाम-निर्देशक) — 'by name'

• vipraḥ: a brāhmaṇa
• vipraḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• mitrāvaruṇa-saṃbhavaḥ: born of Mitra and Varuṇa
• mitrāvaruṇa-saṃbhavaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of agastiḥ/aham/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mitra (प्रातिपदिक) + varuṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'मित्रावरुणयोः सम्भवः' = born of Mitra and Varuṇa

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vaimānika (the vimāna-rider; a king now honored by Gandharvas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya halts the vimāna-rider with a commanding yet composed gesture, introducing himself as the famed r̥ṣi born of Mitra and Varuṇa; Gandharvas pause in attentive silence.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Mitra
• Varuṇa
• vaimānika (vimāna-rider)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sages embody dharma and serve as authoritative guides; their presence redirects extraordinary events toward spiritual explanation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of a tīrtha episode near sacred waters; the tīrtha name is not specified here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative address and identification of the ṛṣi.