Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं माधबीजन्मसम्भवम् । सुपर्णाख्यस्य देवस्य कथासंगाद्द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṃ mādhabījanmasambhavam | suparṇākhyasya devasya kathāsaṃgāddvijottamāḥ

Translation

Ainsi vous ai-je exposé entièrement, ô meilleurs des deux-fois-nés, tout le récit de la naissance de Mādhavī, né du lien avec l’histoire de la divinité nommée Suparṇa.

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• vaḥ: to you / for you
• vaḥ: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) वा चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), बहुवचन (Plural); एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ākhyātam: has been narrated
• ākhyātam: Kriya (Predicate in passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√khyā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• mādhavī-janma-sambhavam: arising from Mādhavī’s birth
• mādhavī-janma-sambhavam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of 'etat/sarvam')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mādhavī (प्रातिपदिक) + janma (प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष-समास (mādhavyāḥ janma-sambhavam = arising from Mādhavī’s birth)

• suparṇa-ākhyasya: of the one named Suparṇa
• suparṇa-ākhyasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suparṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष-समास (suparṇa-nāmnaḥ)

• devasya: of the god
• devasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• kathā-saṃgāt: from the connection with the story
• kathā-saṃgāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃga (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष-समास (kathāyāḥ saṃgaḥ)

• dvija-uttamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मधारय-समास

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: narrative closure formula addressing sages/Brāhmaṇas)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇas (dvijottamāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta concludes: the full account of Mādhavī’s birth is told, explicitly tied to the narrative stream of Suparṇa (Garuḍa). Visualize Garuḍa as a symbolic presence—wings spread above the narrative, indicating divine sanction.

Characters & Entities

• Mādhavī
• Suparṇa (Garuda epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It emphasizes faithful transmission of sacred kathā as a means of preserving dharma and tīrtha-glory.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is a narrative transition within Tīrthamāhātmya; the precise tīrtha is not named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it signals completion of a narrated episode.