Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

सौधमध्ये पुरस्ताद्वै जानश्रुतसुतो नृपः । वर्तते पूजनीयोऽयं न पश्यसि किमंधवत्

Transliteration

saudhamadhye purastādvai jānaśrutasuto nṛpaḥ | vartate pūjanīyo'yaṃ na paśyasi kimaṃdhavat

Translation

രാജമന്ദിരത്തിന്റെ മദ്ധ്യത്തിൽ, നിന്റെ മുമ്പിൽ തന്നേ, ജാനശ്രുതന്റെ പുത്രനായ രാജാവ് നില്ക്കുന്നു—അവൻ പൂജ്യൻ. നീ അന്ധനെന്നപോലെ എന്തുകൊണ്ട് അവനെ കാണുന്നില്ല?

Word by Word

• सौधमध्ये: in the middle of the palace
• सौधमध्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौध-मध्य (प्रातिपदिक; सौध + मध्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सौधस्य मध्ये)

• पुरस्तात्: in front
• पुरस्तात्: Desha/Adverbial (देश/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरस्तात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle, emphasis)

• जानश्रुतसुतः: the son of Jānaśruta
• जानश्रुतसुतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जानश्रुत-सुत (प्रातिपदिक; जानश्रुत + सुत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जानश्रुतस्य सुतः)

• नृपः: the king
• नृपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• वर्तते: is present / stands
• वर्तते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• पूजनीयः: worthy of worship
• पूजनीयः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूजनीय (कृदन्त; पूज् धातु + अनीयर्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative adjective)

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• पश्यसि: you see
• पश्यसि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• किम्: why? / what (then)?
• किम्: Discourse/Question (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग; प्रश्न (interrogative particle)

• अन्धवत्: like a blind man
• अन्धवत्: Manner/Adverbial (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्धवत् (प्रातिपदिक; अन्ध + वत्)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानार्थे (simile adverb: 'like a blind person')

Speaker

A swan (haṃsa) speaking to the leading swan

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setubandha (Setu/Rāmeśvara)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a palace hall, a radiant king (Jānaśruta’s son) stands before the onlooker; a speaker rebukes another for not seeing him, likening the failure to blindness.

Characters & Entities

• Jānaśruta (name)
• Jānaśruta-suta (his son)
• nṛpa (king)
• saudha (palace)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual blindness is failing to recognize virtue and dharmic grandeur even when it stands directly before one.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is set within a palace scene and does not directly glorify a tirtha; the larger section remains Setukhaṇḍa’s Setu-region context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pūjā/satkara (honoring the worthy) is recommended, though no formal ritual steps are specified.