Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

आसीदियं पूर्वभवे काचिद्ब्राह्मणकन्यका । सुमित्रानाम संपूर्णसोमबिम्बसमानना

Transliteration

āsīdiyaṃ pūrvabhave kācidbrāhmaṇakanyakā | sumitrānāma saṃpūrṇasomabimbasamānanā

Translation

മുൻജന്മത്തിൽ അവൾ ‘സുമിത്ര’ എന്ന പേരുള്ള ഒരു ബ്രാഹ്മണകന്യയായിരുന്നു; അവളുടെ മുഖം പൂർണ്ണചന്ദ്രബിംബംപോലെ ആയിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• iyam: this (woman)
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pūrvabhave: in a former birth
• pūrvabhave: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva + bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• kācit: a certain
• kācit: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिर्दिष्टा (indefinite)

• brāhmaṇakanyakā: a brāhmaṇa maiden
• brāhmaṇakanyakā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa + kanyakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-समासभाव: 'of a brāhmaṇa'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• sumitrā: Sumitrā
• sumitrā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sumitrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (नाम)

• nāma: by name
• nāma: Sambandha (Appositive marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, नामनिर्देशक (name-indicator)

• saṃpūrṇasomabimbasamānanā: having a face like the full moon-disc
• saṃpūrṇasomabimbasamānanā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃpūrṇa + soma + bimba + samāna + ānanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समुच्चयभाव), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (sumitrā)

Speaker

Śivadūtas (continuing their explanation)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahman

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous brāhmaṇa maiden, Sumitrā, with a face like the full moon, appears in a flashback tableau—serene, modest, and radiant.

Characters & Entities

• Sumitrā
• Brāhmaṇa-kanyakā
• Rebirth

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Present conditions are linked to prior lives; purāṇic narration often reveals a hidden biography behind suffering and redemption.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it begins a karmic backstory (pūrvajanma-vṛttānta).