Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

कथं समागता सूत वक्तुमेतत्त्वमर्हसि । अस्माकं मुनिशार्दूल तच्छुश्रूषातिभूयसी

Transliteration

kathaṃ samāgatā sūta vaktumetattvamarhasi | asmākaṃ muniśārdūla tacchuśrūṣātibhūyasī

Translation

ഹേ സൂതാ, അത് അവിടെ എങ്ങനെ എത്തി/സ്ഥാപിതമായി? ഇത് വിശദീകരിക്കാൻ നിങ്ങൾ അർഹനാണ്. ഹേ മുനിശാർദൂലാ, അത് കേൾക്കാനുള്ള ഞങ്ങളുടെ ആകാംക്ഷ അത്യന്തമായി വർധിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्नार्थक) — ‘how?’

• samāgatā: has come/arrived
• samāgatā: Kriya (Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘having come/arrived’ (predicate adjective; implied ‘[kathā] samāgatā’)

• sūta: O Sūta
• sūta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन — ‘O Sūta’

• vaktum: to tell
• vaktum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्ययभाव — ‘to tell/speak’

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘this’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘you’

• arhasi: are fit/able
• arhasi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — ‘are able/ought/deserve’

• asmākam: of us
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन — ‘of us’

• muniśārdūla: O tiger among sages
• muniśārdūla: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + śārdūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन — ‘tiger among sages’

• tat: that (matter)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘that/this (matter)’

• śuśrūṣā: eagerness to hear
• śuśrūṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuśrūṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘desire to hear/service’

• ati-bhūyasī: very great
• ati-bhūyasī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + bhūyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास — ‘very great/excessive’ (qualifies śuśrūṣā)

Speaker

Ṛṣis (addressing Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ekāntarāmanātha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages respectfully address Sūta, requesting the origin story of Ekāntarāmanātha; their posture conveys humility and intense curiosity, with the sacred landscape implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry and attentive listening are upheld as gateways to receiving tīrtha-māhātmya and dharma-teaching.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sages are asking about the origin of the previously mentioned sacred place within the Setu kṣetra (contextually Ekāntarāmanātha/Amṛtavāpī region).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse emphasizes śuśrūṣā (eagerness to hear) and the request for explanation.