Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

एतन्मे कौतुकं सर्वं यथावद्वक्तुमर्हसि । तस्मिन्दृष्टे च किं पुण्यं नराणां तत्र जायते

Transliteration

etanme kautukaṃ sarvaṃ yathāvadvaktumarhasi | tasmindṛṣṭe ca kiṃ puṇyaṃ narāṇāṃ tatra jāyate

Translation

«Tout cela a éveillé ma curiosité ; daigne me l’exposer correctement, selon l’ordre des faits. Et lorsque l’on contemple ce saint lieu, quel mérite (puṇya) naît alors pour les hommes ?»

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — “this” (topic/object)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — enclitic “my”

• kautukam: curiosity; wonder
• kautukam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kautuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — “curiosity/wonder”

• sarvam: entire
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — adjective of etat/kautukam “all/entire”

• yathāvat: properly
• yathāvat: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (रीतिवाचक adverb) — “properly, as it is”

• vaktum: to tell
• vaktum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु) → infinitive (तुमुन्)
• Form: कृदन्त (तुमुन्-अव्यय/infinitive) — “to speak”

• arhasi: you should; you are able
• arhasi: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √arh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन — “you are fit/ought”

• tasmin: in that; upon that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन — “in/when that”

• dṛṣṭe: when (it) is seen
• dṛṣṭe: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative absolute) — “when it is seen/after seeing it”

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/ conjunction) — “and”

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — interrogative “what?”

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — “merit”

• narāṇām: of people
• narāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन — “of men”

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक) — “there”

• jāyate: arises; is produced
• jāyate: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — “is produced/arises”

Speaker

Unspecified (listener/interlocutor addressing Pulastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra Maheśvara-darśana

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king, hands joined, requests a full explanation from a seated sage; behind them a hinted shrine and mountain path, emphasizing the transition from curiosity to devotion and from narrative to merit.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere inquiry into a sacred narrative is itself dharmic, and darśana (beholding the divine/holy) is presented as a direct source of puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is introductory; within Arbuda Khaṇḍa it points to the Arbuda/Prabhāsa sacred-geography frame, but this line itself does not name a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly—only the act of ‘seeing’ (darśana) is highlighted as merit-bearing.