Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मं पुराणं तत्राद्यं संहितायां विभूषितम् । श्लोकानां दशसाहस्रं नानापुण्यकथायुतम्

Transliteration

brāhmaṃ purāṇaṃ tatrādyaṃ saṃhitāyāṃ vibhūṣitam | ślokānāṃ daśasāhasraṃ nānāpuṇyakathāyutam

Translation

അവയിൽ ആദ്യം ബ്രാഹ്മ പുരാണം എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധം; സംഹിതാ-രൂപത്തിൽ വിഭൂഷിതം. അതിൽ പത്തായിരം ശ്ലോകങ്ങളുണ്ട്; നാനാ പുണ്യപ്രദ കഥകളാൽ സമ്പന്നം.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मम्: Brāhma (Brahma-related)
• ब्राह्मम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brāhma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन (used as name/epithet)

• पुराणम्: Purāṇa
• पुराणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• तत्र: there/among them
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक ("there/among them")

• आद्यम्: the first
• आद्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन ("first")

• संहितायाम्: in the Saṃhitā
• संहितायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃhitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (locative singular)

• विभूषितम्: adorned/embellished
• विभूषितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-bhūṣ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन (past passive participle: "adorned")

• श्लोकानाम्: of verses
• श्लोकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; बहुवचन (genitive plural)

• दशसाहस्रम्: ten thousand
• दशसाहस्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; द्विगु-समास ("ten thousand")

• नाना: various
• नाना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् विशेषण (indeclinable adjective: "various")

• पुण्यकथायुतम्: endowed with holy narratives
• पुण्यकथायुतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya + kathā + yuta (प्रातिपदिक; क्तवतु-आधारित विशेषण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष ("endowed with holy stories"; yuta = "joined with")

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti), addressing Śaunaka and the sages (deduced from Revākhaṇḍa opening context and direct address in nearby verses)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣisattama

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The narrator reverently introduces the Brāhma Purāṇa as first; a symbolic manuscript is shown as ‘adorned’—wrapped in cloth, placed on a pedestal, with offerings of flowers and incense.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhma Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas are not merely texts of information; they are structured compendia meant to transmit dharma through merit-producing sacred narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a catalog-style statement about Purāṇic literature within the Revā Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse emphasizes the puṇya-bearing nature of Purāṇic kathā rather than prescribing a specific vrata, dāna, or snāna.