Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

सुवस्त्रभूषारूपा वै ब्राह्मणा ब्रह्मवादिनः । वसिष्ठगोत्रे ये जाताः प्रवरत्रयसंयुताः

Transliteration

suvastrabhūṣārūpā vai brāhmaṇā brahmavādinaḥ | vasiṣṭhagotre ye jātāḥ pravaratrayasaṃyutāḥ

Translation

സുവസ്ത്രധാരികളായി, ആഭരണങ്ങളാൽ അലങ്കൃതരായി, മനോഹരരൂപികളായ ആ ബ്രാഹ്മണർ സത്യബ്രഹ്മവാദികളാണ്. വസിഷ്ഠഗോത്രത്തിൽ ജനിച്ച അവർ ത്രിപ്രവരസമന്വിതരെന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധർ.

Word by Word

• सुवस्त्रभूषारूपाः: having good clothes, ornaments, and appearance
• सुवस्त्रभूषारूपाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग) + वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषा (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधान/निश्चयार्थ (emphatic)

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्मवादिनः: speakers/expounders of Brahman (Vedic doctrine)
• ब्रह्मवादिनः: Viśeṣaṇa/Apposition (विशेषण/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म (प्रातिपदिक) + वादिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ब्राह्मणानां विशेषणवत् (appositional)

• वसिष्ठगोत्रे: in the Vasiṣṭha lineage (gotra)
• वसिष्ठगोत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + गोत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• जाताः: born
• जाताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु) → जात (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतभावे; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘ये’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• प्रवरत्रयसंयुताः: endowed with a triad of pravaras
• प्रवरत्रयसंयुताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रवर (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुत (कृदन्त, क्त; √युज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘ये/ब्राह्मणाः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण; क्तान्त (past participle)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a king/interlocutor)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A courtly setting where a sage enumerates Brahmin lineages: well-dressed, ornamented brāhmaṇas seated with palm-leaf manuscripts; the king listens respectfully; a calm, scholastic atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Brāhmaṇa
• Pravara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True Brahminhood is marked by commitment to Brahman/Vedic truth and disciplined lineage-based tradition (gotra–pravara), not merely outward appearance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it belongs to the Dharmāraṇya context where dharma and sacred lineage are being praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse highlights gotra and pravara identity used in Vedic rites and ancestral invocation.