Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

संवर्त उवाच । इति वाचं समाकर्ण्य भाव्यर्थकृतनिश्चयः । याज्ञवल्क्यो मरौ देशे विप्रस्याजायतात्मजः

Transliteration

saṃvarta uvāca | iti vācaṃ samākarṇya bhāvyarthakṛtaniścayaḥ | yājñavalkyo marau deśe viprasyājāyatātmajaḥ

Translation

サンヴァルタは言った。「その言葉を聞き、来たるべき事を覚悟して、ヤージュニャヴァルキヤは砂漠の地において一人のブラーフマナの子として生まれた。」

Word by Word

• saṃvartaḥ: Saṃvarta
• saṃvartaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvarta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-dyotaka (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (निपात)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपात (quotative)

• vācam: speech, words
• vācam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• samākarṇya: having heard
• samākarṇya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-karṇ (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having heard’

• bhāvyārthakṛtaniścayaḥ: one who had resolved about the future matter
• bhāvyārthakṛtaniścayaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāvya (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + niścaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (सम्बन्ध/कर्मधारय-प्राय: ‘bhāvyasya arthasya kṛtaḥ niścayaḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; qualifying implied subject

• yājñavalkyaḥ: Yājñavalkya
• yājñavalkyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yājñavalkya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• marau: in the desert
• marau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• deśe: in a place
• deśe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• viprasya: of a brāhmaṇa
• viprasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• ajāyata: was born
• ajāyata: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• ātmajaḥ: son
• ātmajaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātma (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘ātmano jaḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Saṃvarta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maru-deśa (as narrative region, not a tīrtha here)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Narrator Saṃvarta recounts: a child (Yājñavalkya) is born to a brāhmaṇa in a desert land—sand dunes, sparse shrubs, a humble hut/āśrama; the child’s face carries an uncanny composure.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃvarta
• Yājñavalkya
• Brāhmaṇa (vipra)
• Maru-deśa (desert region)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic history frames births and destinies as outcomes shaped by prior causes and firm resolve, reinforcing karma and narrative continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is praised; only a geographical setting, “Maru-deśa” (desert region), is mentioned as narrative context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative transition identifying speaker and lineage/birth.