Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

ऋषीणां कथितं पूर्वं नारदेन महात्मना

Transliteration

ṛṣīṇāṃ kathitaṃ pūrvaṃ nāradena mahātmanā

Translation

Autrefois, le magnanime Nārada l’enseigna aux sages ṛṣi.

Word by Word

• ऋषीणाम्: of the sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• कथितम्: told
• कथितम्: Kriya (Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘told’

• पूर्वम्: formerly; earlier
• पूर्वम्: Avyaya (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) कालवाचक

• नारदेन: by Nārada
• नारदेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• महात्मना: by the great-souled (one)
• महात्मना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying Nārada)

Speaker

Bhadra (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: king (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārada, vīṇā in hand, addresses an assembly of sages seated in a forest hermitage; the sense is of ancient telling and scriptural continuity.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic teachings are validated through a respected lineage of transmission, here through Nārada.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse introduces the source of the account within Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya; the tīrtha is contextual rather than named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it establishes narrative authority via Nārada’s earlier instruction.