Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

कस्मिंश्चिदथ संप्राप्ते कथांते ते मुनीश्वराः । पप्रच्छुर्भूमिपालं तु कौतूहलसमन्विताः

Transliteration

kasmiṃścidatha saṃprāpte kathāṃte te munīśvarāḥ | papracchurbhūmipālaṃ tu kautūhalasamanvitāḥ

Translation

やがて話があるところに至ると、好奇心に満ちたその大聖ムニたちは王に問いかけた。

Word by Word

• kasmiṃścit: in some (occasion)
• kasmiṃścit: Adhikaraṇa (Time/Place locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kasmin (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + cit (अव्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (सन्दर्भे), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; 'cit' निपातेन अनिश्चितार्थ (in some...)

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

• saṃprāpte: when (it) had come/occurred
• saṃprāpte: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√prāp (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) सप्तमी-एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute) अर्थः—प्राप्ते सति (when it had arrived)

• kathā-ante: at the end of the talk
• kathā-ante: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathānta (प्रातिपदिक) = kathā + anta
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कथायाः अन्ते)

• te: those
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• munīśvarāḥ: lords among sages
• munīśvarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: munīśvara (प्रातिपदिक) = muni + īśvara
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (मुनीनां ईश्वराः)

• papracchuḥ: asked
• papracchuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prach (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• bhūmipālam: the king
• bhūmipālam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmipāla (प्रातिपदिक) = bhūmi + pāla
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (भूमेः पालम्)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (but/indeed)

• kautūhala-samanvitāḥ: endowed with curiosity
• kautūhala-samanvitāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kautūhala (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (सम्+अन्वि+√i/√vṛt?; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कौतूहलेन समन्विताः)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Māhātmya (exact speaker not stated in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇa audience; internally, the king is the respondent

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages lean forward with attentive curiosity, gesturing as they pose a question to the seated king; the sabhā pauses at a narrative turning point.

Characters & Entities

• Munis
• King (Bhūmipāla)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is clarified through respectful questioning in the company of sages—curiosity becomes a vehicle for truth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The questioning occurs within the Mahākāla tīrtha setting established earlier in the adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription yet; it introduces a question that will elicit ritual details.