Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अथोवाच मुनीन्सर्वान्विश्रांतान्पद्मयोनिजः । कुतो यूयं समायाताः सांप्रतं केन हेतुना

Transliteration

athovāca munīnsarvānviśrāṃtānpadmayonijaḥ | kuto yūyaṃ samāyātāḥ sāṃprataṃ kena hetunā

Translation

Alors Padmayonija (Brahmā), voyant tous les sages au repos, leur adressa la parole : « D’où venez-vous à présent, et pour quelle raison ? »

Word by Word

• atha: then/now
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (sequence/now-then marker)

• uvāca: said/spoke
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• munīn: sages
• munīn: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (मुनि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• sarvān: all
• sarvān: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्व प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (munīn)

• viśrāntān: rested/relaxed
• viśrāntān: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśrānta (विश्रान्त प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (munīn)

• padma-yonijaḥ: the lotus-born (Brahmā)
• padma-yonijaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (पद्म प्रातिपदिक) + yonija (योनिज प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (padmāyāḥ yoniḥ → padma-yoni; तस्मात् जातः)

• kutaḥ: from where/whence
• kutaḥ: Adhikarana (Source/स्थान-प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (कुतः अव्यय/प्रश्न)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक (interrogative adverb)

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• samāyātāḥ: have come/arrived
• samāyātāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (या धातु) + samāyata (समायत कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकालिक क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle used predicatively); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (yūyam)

• sāṃpratam: now/at present
• sāṃpratam: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāṃpratam (साम्प्रतम् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• kena: by what/with what
• kena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• hetunā: reason/cause
• hetunā: Karana (Cause/हेतु-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hetu (हेतु प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

Speaker

Brahmā (Padmayonija)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Camatkārapura (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: assembled sages (munis)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā (Padmayonija) addresses a seated circle of travel-worn sages who have rested; the moment is quiet, anticipatory, with the sense that a marvel-story is about to begin.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Padmayonija)
• muni (sages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine dialogue begins with inquiry: sincere purpose and clear intent are foundational when seeking boons or guidance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is Brahmaloka; this verse does not identify a terrestrial tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it initiates the petition by Brahmā’s question regarding cause and origin.