Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

बालकं तं समादाय ब्रह्मलोकं गतास्तदा । तत्र दृष्ट्वा चतुर्वक्त्रं नमश्चक्रुर्मुनीश्वराः

Transliteration

bālakaṃ taṃ samādāya brahmalokaṃ gatāstadā | tatra dṛṣṭvā caturvaktraṃ namaścakrurmunīśvarāḥ

Translation

Emmenant l’enfant, ils se rendirent alors au monde de Brahmā. Là, voyant le Seigneur aux Quatre Visages, les grands sages offrirent leurs salutations révérencieuses.

Word by Word

• बालकम्: the boy
• बालकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बालक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• तम्: him/that (boy)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• समादाय: having taken
• समादाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘समादाय’ = having taken

• ब्रह्मलोकम्: to Brahma’s world
• ब्रह्मलोकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म) / Gati-karman (destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणः लोकः)

• गताः: went/had gone
• गताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘gone’ (with implied ‘अभवन्’)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘having seen’

• चतुर्वक्त्रम्: the four-faced one (Brahmā)
• चतुर्वक्त्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (चत्वारि वक्त्राणि यस्य)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/भाव (salutation expression)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: निपात/अव्यय-प्रयोग (interjectional indeclinable)

• चक्रुः: they did/made
• चक्रुः: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• मुनीश्वराः: lords among sages
• मुनीश्वराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मुनीनां ईश्वराः)

Speaker

Narrator (purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmaloka (Satyaloka)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣa ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages, carrying the child, arrive in Brahmaloka; Brahmā, four-faced, seated on a lotus, receives their salutations.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmaloka
• Brahmā (Caturvaktra)
• munīśvarāḥ (great sages)
• bālaka (child)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharma is threatened, the wise seek higher guidance with humility—approaching the divine through reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse shifts to Brahmaloka (a celestial realm), while the story belongs to Arbuda-khaṇḍa’s sacred geography on earth.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The act shown is namaskāra (reverential salutation), a foundational devotional practice.