Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अभितो ब्रह्मसर्वस्वं तत्र सयोजितं मया । तेनैव क्षत्रजन्माऽयं ब्राह्मणश्चतुरानन

Transliteration

abhito brahmasarvasvaṃ tatra sayojitaṃ mayā | tenaiva kṣatrajanmā'yaṃ brāhmaṇaścaturānana

Translation

«Là, de toutes parts, j’ai insufflé la plénitude même de l’essence de Brahman. Par cet acte, bien que né kṣatriya, il est digne d’être brāhmaṇa, ô Toi au Quatre-Visages (Brahmā).»

Word by Word

• अभितः: around, on all sides
• अभितः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभितः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb/preposition): ‘around/on all sides’

• ब्रह्मसर्वस्वम्: the entire essence/wealth of Brahman
• ब्रह्मसर्वस्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्वस्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brahmaṇaḥ sarvasvam)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb): ‘there’

• सयोजितम्: placed/arranged
• सयोजितम्: Karma (Object-predicate/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + युज् (धातु) → योजित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘placed/arranged’

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; तृतीया एकवचन (Instr. sg.)

• तेन: by that/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; तृतीया एकवचन (Instr. sg.)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण (particle of emphasis)

• क्षत्रजन्मा: one born as a kṣatriya
• क्षत्रजन्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kṣatrasya janmā)

• अयम्: this (person)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• ब्राह्मणः: a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• चतुरानन: O four-faced one (Brahmā)
• चतुरानन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; संबोधन एकवचन (Voc. sg.); बहुव्रीहिः ‘यस्य चत्वारि आननानि सः’ (epithet of Brahmā)

Speaker

Ṛcīka

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred precinct suffused with luminous brahma-tejas in all directions; a kṣatriya ascetic/king stands within a radiant mandala as Brahmā’s presence or decree sanctifies him into brāhmaṇa-eligibility.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛcīka
• Brahmā (Caturānana)
• Brāhmaṇa
• Kṣatriya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Brāhmaṇya is framed as a spiritual-ethical qualification, not merely birth—supported here through mantra-infused rite and later confirmed through tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a particular tīrtha; it serves the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya narrative by illustrating the extraordinary spiritual outcomes associated with sacred practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It alludes to a yajña context where brahma-sarvasva is ‘infused’ into an offering (continuing the caru/mantra rite mentioned previously).