Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

यदि जानासि तं ब्रूहि सुहृत्संगो न निष्फलः । ततोऽहमब्रवं तांश्च विचार्येदं पुनःपुनः

Transliteration

yadi jānāsi taṃ brūhi suhṛtsaṃgo na niṣphalaḥ | tato'hamabravaṃ tāṃśca vicāryedaṃ punaḥpunaḥ

Translation

«သူ့ကို သိလျှင် ပြောပါ—ကောင်းမြတ်သော မိတ်ဆွေ၏ အပေါင်းအသင်းသည် အကျိုးမဲ့ မဖြစ်နိုင်» ဟုဆိုကြသည်။ ထို့နောက် ငါသည် အကြိမ်ကြိမ် စဉ်းစားသုံးသပ်ပြီး သူတို့အား ပြန်လည် ပြောကြား하였다။

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त-निपात (conditional conjunction)

• जानासि: you know
• जानासि: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Acc.), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ब्रूहि: tell (me/us)
• ब्रूहि: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• सुहृत्संगः: companionship with a good friend
• सुहृत्संगः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुहृत् + सङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (association with a friend)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• निष्फलः: fruitless
• निष्फलः: Visheshana (Predicate qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निष्फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), एकवचन; विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Kala/Hetu (Then/Therefore)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय/तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय (ablatival adverb), अर्थः—तस्मात्/thereupon

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अब्रवम्: I said
• अब्रवम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Acc.), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• विचार्य: having reflected
• विचार्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि + चर् (धातु) + ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययीभाव-रूप कृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), अर्थः—विचारं कृत्वा (having considered)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Acc.), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पुनःपुनः: again and again
• पुनःपुनः: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः + पुनः (अव्यय-युग्म)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्यय (reduplicated adverb), अर्थः—बारम्बार (again and again)

Speaker

Residents of Nāḍījaṅgha (first half), then Narrator (second half)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The inquirers/seekers

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The seekers request direct guidance; the sage pauses in contemplation, eyes lowered, counting on fingers or holding a rosary, then prepares to speak—signaling repeated reflection and benevolent counsel.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃvarta (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Good company and guidance from a true well-wisher lead to meaningful spiritual outcomes; sincere seekers are answered.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse prepares for the identification of Saṃvarta’s abode, which is disclosed as Vārāṇasī in the next verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it emphasizes the value of seeking and trusting beneficent guidance (suhṛt-saṅga).