Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

आगतो ब्राह्मणो ज्ञानी कश्चित्सामुद्रविच्छुभः । ततोऽसौ क्रीडमानस्तु बालकः पंचवार्षिकः

Transliteration

āgato brāhmaṇo jñānī kaścitsāmudravicchubhaḥ | tato'sau krīḍamānastu bālakaḥ paṃcavārṣikaḥ

Translation

ശരീരലക്ഷണങ്ങൾ അറിയുന്ന ഒരു ജ്ഞാനിയായ ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ എത്തി. അപ്പോൾ അഞ്ചുവയസ്സുള്ള ആ ബാലൻ കളിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് അവിടെ വന്നു.

Word by Word

• आगतः: arrived
• आगतः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकालिक कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘come/arrived’

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ज्ञानी: wise/knowing
• ज्ञानी: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञानिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• कश्चित्: someone
• कश्चित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चित (indefinite)

• सामुद्रविच्छुभः: an auspicious knower of sea(-lore)
• सामुद्रविच्छुभः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सामुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वित्/विद् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘knower’) + शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (सामुद्रं विदन्/वित्; शुभः) — ‘one who knows sea-omens/sea-lore, auspicious’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/हेतुवाचक (then/thereupon)

• असौ: that (boy)/he
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• क्रीडमानः: playing
• क्रीडमानः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रीड् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्; आत्मनेपद-प्रयोगः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘playing’

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• बालकः: a boy
• बालकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बालक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पञ्चवार्षिकः: five years old
• पञ्चवार्षिकः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वार्षिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (पञ्च वर्षाणि यस्य)

Speaker

Pulastya (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (frame); Arbuda (sectional setting)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned brāhmaṇa skilled in physiognomy arrives at a hermitage/tīrtha precinct; nearby a five-year-old boy plays innocently, unaware of the scrutiny that will reveal destiny.

Characters & Entities

• Learned brāhmaṇa (sāmudravit)
• The child (five-year-old)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives often introduce a wise observer whose discernment reveals hidden destiny, prompting deeper reliance on dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The story continues within the hermitage milieu associated with Mārkaṇḍeya’s āśrama.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces a knower of signs (sāmudravit) and the child’s age.