Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 132

Devanagari script

ततो मां पंचमे वर्षे व्यास आगत्य जप्तवान् । कर्णे सारस्वतं मंत्रं तेनाहं संस्मरामि च

Transliteration

tato māṃ paṃcame varṣe vyāsa āgatya japtavān | karṇe sārasvataṃ maṃtraṃ tenāhaṃ saṃsmarāmi ca

Translation

പിന്നെ എന്റെ അഞ്ചാം വയസ്സിൽ വ്യാസൻ വന്ന് എന്റെ ചെവിയിൽ സാരസ്വത മന്ത്രം ജപിച്ചു; അതിനാൽ ഞാൻ (പവിത്ര ഉപദേശം) സ്മരിക്കാൻ കഴിയും।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• pañcame: in the fifth
• pañcame: Adhikarana (Temporal qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग? (varṣe with neuter), सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण (to varṣe)

• varṣe: year
• varṣe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; काल-अधिकरण

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive) = having come

• japtavān: recited
• japtavān: Kriya (Main action with participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jap (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्तवत्, past active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘having recited’

• karṇe: in (my) ear
• karṇe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (in the ear)

• sārasvatam: Sarasvatī-related
• sārasvatam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sārasvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (to mantram)

• mantram: mantra
• mantram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• tena: by that/therefore
• tena: Karana (Cause/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; करण/हेतु = by that/therefore

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• saṃsmarāmi: I remember
• saṃsmarāmi: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-√smṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘I remember’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक)

Speaker

A suffering narrator (unnamed in this snippet; within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa discourse tradition)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Vyāsa bends toward a five-year-old child, whispering a mantra into the right ear (karṇopadeśa). A subtle presence of Sarasvatī—white garments, vīṇā—appears as an aura of learning and memory.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Sārasvata Mantra
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mantra-upadeśa from a realized guru restores memory, direction, and dharmic capacity even in adversity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mantra-japa/upadeśa is implied: Vyāsa imparts the Sārasvata mantra into the ear.