Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

पुस्तिकाकरसंस्थं च पप्रच्छ चपलं द्विजम्

Transliteration

pustikākarasaṃsthaṃ ca papraccha capalaṃ dvijam

Translation

കയ്യിൽ പുസ്‌തിക പിടിച്ചിരുന്ന ആ ചപലനായ ബ്രാഹ്മണനോട് രാജാവ് അവിടെ ചോദിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• पुस्तिकाकरसंस्थं: standing with a book in hand
• पुस्तिकाकरसंस्थं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुस्तिकाकरसंस्थ (प्रातिपदिक; पुस्तिका + कर + संस्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; द्विजम् विशेषयति

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• पप्रच्छ: asked
• पप्रच्छ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• चपलं: restless
• चपलं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चपल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विजम् विशेषयति

• द्विजम्: the Brahmin
• द्विजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced for Skanda Purāṇa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hanūmanteśvara (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience/ṛṣis (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close encounter: the king addresses a quick-moving brāhmaṇa clutching a small manuscript, as if guarding a mission.

Characters & Entities

• Piṅgala Dvija (brāhmaṇa with a book)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma begins with inquiry—approaching a learned person (or one bearing scripture) and asking questions is a classic Purāṇic doorway to transformation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate context remains Hanūmantavana within the Revā Khaṇḍa setting; the focus here is the start of a teaching dialogue.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces a question-and-answer sequence rather than a specific ritual.