Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अभितो ब्रह्मसर्वस्वं तत्र सयोजितं मया । तेनैव क्षत्रजन्माऽयं ब्राह्मणश्चतुरानन

Transliteration

abhito brahmasarvasvaṃ tatra sayojitaṃ mayā | tenaiva kṣatrajanmā'yaṃ brāhmaṇaścaturānana

Translation

“Di sana aku telah meresapkan dari segenap penjuru seluruh inti Brahman. Dengan perbuatan itu juga, walaupun lahir sebagai kṣatriya, dia layak sebagai seorang brāhmaṇa—wahai Yang Bermuka Empat (Brahmā).”

Word by Word

• अभितः: around, on all sides
• अभितः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभितः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb/preposition): ‘around/on all sides’

• ब्रह्मसर्वस्वम्: the entire essence/wealth of Brahman
• ब्रह्मसर्वस्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्वस्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brahmaṇaḥ sarvasvam)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb): ‘there’

• सयोजितम्: placed/arranged
• सयोजितम्: Karma (Object-predicate/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + युज् (धातु) → योजित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘placed/arranged’

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; तृतीया एकवचन (Instr. sg.)

• तेन: by that/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; तृतीया एकवचन (Instr. sg.)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण (particle of emphasis)

• क्षत्रजन्मा: one born as a kṣatriya
• क्षत्रजन्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kṣatrasya janmā)

• अयम्: this (person)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• ब्राह्मणः: a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• चतुरानन: O four-faced one (Brahmā)
• चतुरानन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; संबोधन एकवचन (Voc. sg.); बहुव्रीहिः ‘यस्य चत्वारि आननानि सः’ (epithet of Brahmā)

Speaker

Ṛcīka

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred precinct suffused with luminous brahma-tejas in all directions; a kṣatriya ascetic/king stands within a radiant mandala as Brahmā’s presence or decree sanctifies him into brāhmaṇa-eligibility.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛcīka
• Brahmā (Caturānana)
• Brāhmaṇa
• Kṣatriya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Brāhmaṇya is framed as a spiritual-ethical qualification, not merely birth—supported here through mantra-infused rite and later confirmed through tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a particular tīrtha; it serves the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya narrative by illustrating the extraordinary spiritual outcomes associated with sacred practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It alludes to a yajña context where brahma-sarvasva is ‘infused’ into an offering (continuing the caru/mantra rite mentioned previously).