Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

एकस्तु चतुरो वेदान्सम्यक्पठति ब्राह्मणः । पश्यत्यन्यो हृषीकेशं चातुर्मास्यं समाहितः

Transliteration

ekastu caturo vedānsamyakpaṭhati brāhmaṇaḥ | paśyatyanyo hṛṣīkeśaṃ cāturmāsyaṃ samāhitaḥ

Translation

Un brāhmane peut réciter comme il se doit les quatre Veda; mais un autre, l’esprit fermement recueilli, obtient la vision de Hṛṣīkeśa durant le Cāturmāsya—et cela est proclamé comme l’accomplissement plus élevé du dharma.

Word by Word

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• caturaḥ: four
• caturaḥ: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम्

• vedān: Vedas
• vedān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• samyak: properly
• samyak: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• paṭhati: recites/reads
• paṭhati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• brāhmaṇaḥ: a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• anyaḥ: another (person)
• anyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• hṛṣīkeśam: Hṛṣīkeśa
• hṛṣīkeśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛṣīkeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• cāturmāsyam: Cāturmāsya observance
• cāturmāsyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• samāhitaḥ: composed, concentrated
• samāhitaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (धातु) → samāhita (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hṛṣīkeśa-tīrtha / Hari-sannidhi (within Arbuda-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene brāhmaṇa recites Vedas with palm-leaf manuscripts, while another devotee, eyes lowered in meditation, stands before Hṛṣīkeśa’s icon during the rainy-season Cāturmāsya, lamps glowing and monsoon clouds outside.

Characters & Entities

• Four Vedas
• Brāhmaṇa
• Hṛṣīkeśa
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Scriptural learning is exalted, but its highest completion is devotion that leads to direct vision of the Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named place appears; the verse glorifies Cāturmāsya as sacred time and Hṛṣīkeśa as the object of supreme darśana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Proper Vedic recitation/study is mentioned; the verse prioritizes Cāturmāsya-centered composure and Hṛṣīkeśa-darśana.