Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

परं कौतुकमापन्ना वाक्यमेतदथाब्रुवन् । प्रदक्षिणासमुद्भूतं कारणं ज्ञातुमिच्छवः

Transliteration

paraṃ kautukamāpannā vākyametadathābruvan | pradakṣiṇāsamudbhūtaṃ kāraṇaṃ jñātumicchavaḥ

Translation

Tomados por intensa curiosidade, disseram então estas palavras, desejando conhecer a causa daquilo que surgira da pradakṣiṇā.

Word by Word

• परम्: great
• परम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• कौतुकम्: curiosity, wonder
• कौतुकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kautuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आपन्नाः: having attained, seized by
• आपन्नाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√pad (धातु) + āpanna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past active/PPP in sense 'having reached'), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• वाक्यम्: statement, words
• वाक्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषणम्

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: then)

• अब्रुवन्: they said
• अब्रुवन्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• प्रदक्षिणासमुद्भूतम्: arisen from circumambulation
• प्रदक्षिणासमुद्भूतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pradakṣiṇā + samudbhūta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP of सम्-उद्-√bhū), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (प्रदक्षिणायाः समुद्भूतम् = arisen from circumambulation)

• कारणम्: cause, reason
• कारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ज्ञातुम्: to know
• ज्ञातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), प्रयोजनार्थ (in order to know)

• इच्छवः: wishing, desiring
• इच्छवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √iṣ (धातु) + icchu (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उणादि/कृदन्त (desiderative agent noun: 'desiring'), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic storyteller within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of sages, eyes widened with wonder, pause mid-pilgrimage and turn toward a royal devotee whose repeated circumambulation has produced an unusual sign; the sacred mountain backdrop suggests Arbuda’s wooded slopes and a small liṅga-shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Sages (Munis)
• King Veṇu
• Acaleśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy inquiry (jijñāsā) is praised; sages seek the inner cause and spiritual logic behind extraordinary devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The inquiry unfolds at Acaleśvara in the Arbuda region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā is the focal rite; the sages ask to understand its specific cause and effect in this context.