Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

।ययातिरुवाच । स्वागतं ते मुनिश्रेष्ठ सफलं मेऽद्यजीवितम् । कथयस्व प्रसादेन कथामर्बुदसंभवाम्

Transliteration

|yayātiruvāca | svāgataṃ te muniśreṣṭha saphalaṃ me'dyajīvitam | kathayasva prasādena kathāmarbudasaṃbhavām

Translation

യയാതി പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ മുനിശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, സ്വാഗതം; ഇന്ന് എന്റെ ജീവിതം സഫലമായി. കരുണയോടെ അർബുദത്തിന്റെ ഉദ്ഭവകഥ എന്നോട് പറയുക.

Word by Word

• yayātiḥ: Yayāti
• yayātiḥ: Karta (Speaker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yayāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• svāgatam: welcome
• svāgatam: Bhāva (Greeting expression)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su (उपसर्ग) + āgata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘स्वागतम्’ = welcome (as a greeting)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन

• muniśreṣṭha: O best of sages
• muniśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मुनीनां श्रेष्ठ); पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• saphalam: fruitful
• saphalam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa- (उपसर्ग/उपपद) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (जीवितम्)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• adya: today
• adya: Kāla
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक)

• jīvitam: life
• jīvitam: Karta (Subject of implied ‘asti’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kathayasva: tell/narrate
• kathayasva: Kriyā (Request)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (धातु-प्रयोगः; √kath/√kathay)
• Form: लोट् (imperative); आत्मनेपद; मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• prasādena: by (your) grace
• prasādena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Means/cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; हेतौ/करणे (by your grace)

• kathām: the story
• kathām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• arbuda-saṃbhavām: arising from/connected with Arbuda
• arbuda-saṃbhavām: Karma-viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arbuda (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अर्बुदस्य सम्भवः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (कथाम्)

Speaker

Yayāti

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda (requested)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (implied) Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis; inner frame: Pulastya addressed by Yayāti

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yayāti welcomes Pulastya with folded hands, expressing that his life is fulfilled and requesting the compassionate telling of Arbuda’s origin story.

Characters & Entities

• Yayāti
• Arbuda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry to a realized sage is praised as life-fulfilling and opens the door to sacred place-glories (māhātmya).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arbuda—introduced as a sacred region/mountain whose origin-story will ground its tīrtha-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it initiates the request for the Arbuda māhātmya that will lead into pilgrimage details.