Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

इत्यादिनारदप्रोक्तां वाचमाकर्ण्य फाल्गुनः । अतीव मुदितः प्राह तेषामकुशलं कुतः

Transliteration

ityādināradaproktāṃ vācamākarṇya phālgunaḥ | atīva muditaḥ prāha teṣāmakuśalaṃ kutaḥ

Translation

ನಾರದನು ಹೇಳಿದ ಈ ಮಾತುಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ಫಾಲ್ಗುಣ (ಅರ್ಜುನ) ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಹರ್ಷಗೊಂಡು ಹೇಳಿದನು—“ಅವರಿಗೆ ಅಕುಶಲ ಎಲ್ಲಿಿಂದ ಬರಲಿದೆ?”

Word by Word

• iti-ādi-nārada-proktām: spoken by Nārada, beginning with ‘iti…’
• iti-ādi-nārada-proktām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: iti (अव्यय) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + nārada (प्रातिपदिक) + prokta (√vac/√brū?; here √vac ‘to say’ + kta)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः—‘(vācām) which was spoken by Nārada beginning with “iti …”’

• vācam: speech, words
• vācam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• ākarṇya: having heard
• ākarṇya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√kṛ (धातु) + ṇya?; actually ā-√karṇ (धातु-भाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) from ā-√karṇ ‘to hear’; अव्यय-भाव

• phālgunaḥ: Phālguna (Arjuna)
• phālgunaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phālguna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; proper name (Arjuna)

• atīva: very, exceedingly
• atīva: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: अत्यर्थ-परिमाणवाचक अव्यय (intensifying adverb)

• muditaḥ: gladdened, delighted
• muditaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mudita (प्रातिपदिक) < √mud (धातु) + kta
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) used adjectivally; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• prāha: said
• prāha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्ण), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• akuśalam: misfortune, ill-being
• akuśalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-kuśala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘misfortune/ill’

• kutaḥ: from where? how? why?
• kutaḥ: Hetu (Cause-query/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय/प्रश्न)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

Speaker

Phālguna (Arjuna)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Arjuna (as listener to Nārada); Nārada (as listener to Arjuna’s question)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Arjuna (Phālguna) smiling, hands in respectful gesture, responding to Nārada; the atmosphere brightens—sunlight through trees, calm companionship.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Phālguna (Arjuna)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Those devoted to dharma and holy observances are naturally safeguarded from inauspicious outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular tīrtha is being prepared for praise in this dialogue, but it is not named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse sets up inquiry into the benefits of dharmic, tīrtha-centered life.