Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पुरा त्रेतायुगे पार्थ चौडदेशसमुद्भवौ । ऊर्जयंतश्च प्रालेयो विप्रावास्तां महाद्युती

Transliteration

purā tretāyuge pārtha cauḍadeśasamudbhavau | ūrjayaṃtaśca prāleyo viprāvāstāṃ mahādyutī

Translation

पूर्वकाल में, त्रेता युग में, हे पार्थ, चौड देश में उत्पन्न दो महातेजस्वी ब्राह्मण थे—ऊर्जयंत और प्रालेय।

Word by Word

• purā: formerly
• purā: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• tretā-yuge: in the Tretā-yuga
• tretā-yuge: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tretā (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘त्रेतायुगे’ = त्रेतायां युगे (in the Tretā age)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• cauḍa-deśa-samudbhavau: born in the Cauḍa region
• cauḍa-deśa-samudbhavau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cauḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + deśa (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; ‘चौडदेशसमुद्भवौ’ = चौडदेशात् समुद्भूतौ (born from the Cauḍa country)

• ūrjayantaḥ: Ūrjayant(a)
• ūrjayantaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūrjayant (प्रातिपदिक; नाम/विशेष-नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषनाम (proper name)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Avyaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• prāleyaḥ: Prāleya
• prāleyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāleya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषनाम (proper name)

• viprau: two brāhmaṇas
• viprau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन

• āstām: were
• āstām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लिट्/लङ्-रूपसदृश (परम्परागत कथन-भूतकाल); प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘आस्ताम्’ = were/there were (two)

• mahā-dyutī: very radiant
• mahā-dyutī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + dyuti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; ‘महाद्युती’ = महती द्युतिः यस्य (very radiant)

Speaker

Nārada (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somnātha (contextual, upcoming)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two radiant brāhmaṇas in simple white garments, with sacred thread and matted hair or neatly tied topknot, stand in a learned setting; a subtle backdrop hints at eastern Indian landscape, beginning of an ancient tale.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Ūrjayanta
• Prāleya
• Cauḍa-deśa
• Tretā-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The māhātmya frames holiness through exemplary lives—learned brāhmaṇas become vehicles for pilgrimage narratives and dharma-teaching.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage introduces Somanātha; this verse itself sets the characters who will journey into that tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it introduces the protagonists and their era and origin.