Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य विष्णुपुत्रो बभूव ह । सांबोनाम सुरूपाढ्यो जांबवत्यां द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

kasyacittvatha kālasya viṣṇuputro babhūva ha | sāṃbonāma surūpāḍhyo jāṃbavatyāṃ dvijottamāḥ

Translation

やがて時が経ち、ヴィシュヌの御子が生まれた。名をサーンバ（Sāmba）といい、比類なき美貌を備えていた――ジャンバヴァティー（Jāmbavatī）より生まれたのである、婆羅門の最勝よ。

Word by Word

• कस्यचित्: of some
• कस्यचित्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (some)

• तु: indeed, however
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तर्यबोधक (then)

• कालस्य: of time, at a certain time
• कालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• विष्णुपुत्रः: Vishnu’s son
• विष्णुपुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु + पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—विष्णोः पुत्रः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• बभूव: came to be, was born
• बभूव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• ह: indeed (narrative)
• ह: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्मरण/इतिहाससूचक निपात (narrative particle)

• साम्बः: Sāmba
• साम्बः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Naming/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देशक (particle: ‘by name’)

• सुरूपाढ्यः: endowed with great beauty
• सुरूपाढ्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुरूप + आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—सुरूपेण आढ्यः/युक्तः (तत्पुरुषः)

• जाम्बवत्याम्: in/through Jāmbavatī (as mother/wife context)
• जाम्बवत्याम्: Desha-adhikarana (Place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाम्बवती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तमाः: the best of Brahmins (textual reading; syntactically irregular here)
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—द्विजानाम् उत्तमाः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

Speaker

Narrator within the chapter (continuing the Purāṇic account; immediate speaker not explicit in this single verse)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottama (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal birth scene: Jāmbavatī with attendants, the newborn Sāmba radiant; auspicious lamps, conch and drum motifs, palace interiors suggesting Dvārakā’s splendor.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Sāmba
• Jāmbavatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha narratives often anchor a site’s greatness in the lives of renowned figures, linking dharma, lineage, and sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter’s tīrtha context remains Puṇyahrada/Kuharavāsa; this verse introduces the Sāmba narrative connected to Sūrya traditions.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is narrative setup introducing Sāmba’s identity and parentage.