Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

यादृशं ते द्विजश्रेष्ठ दृश्यते पार्थसंस्थितम् । किं ब्रह्मणा स्वयं विप्र त्वमेवं प्रतिबोधितः

Transliteration

yādṛśaṃ te dvijaśreṣṭha dṛśyate pārthasaṃsthitam | kiṃ brahmaṇā svayaṃ vipra tvamevaṃ pratibodhitaḥ

Translation

«О лучший из дважды-рождённых, та твёрдость, что видна в тебе, словно гора, прочно стоящая,—о брахман, не сам ли Брахма наставил тебя так?»

Word by Word

• yādṛśam: what kind of
• yādṛśam: Viśeṣaṇa (Interrogative adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘of what kind’

• te: your / in you
• te: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी, एकवचन — ‘your/in you’

• dvija-śreṣṭha: O best of brahmins
• dvija-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; कर्मधारय ‘श्रेष्ठः द्विजः’

• dṛśyate: is seen, appears
• dṛśyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोगः — ‘is seen/appears’

• pārtha-saṃsthitam: situated in Pārtha (Arjuna)
• pārtha-saṃsthitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष) ‘पार्थे संस्थितम्’ = ‘situated in/with Pārtha (Arjuna)’; अत्र ‘(यादृशं) [ज्ञानम्]’ विशेषणम्

• kim: whether; what
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्नार्थक — ‘whether/what?’ (प्रश्न)

• brahmaṇā: by Brahmā
• brahmaṇā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — ‘by Brahmā’

• svayam: personally
• svayam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (स्वार्थक) — ‘oneself, personally’

• vipra: O brahmin
• vipra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक) — ‘thus/in this way’

• pratibodhitaḥ: instructed, awakened
• pratibodhitaḥ: Karta (Predicate of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prati√budh (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे — ‘instructed/awakened’

Speaker

Ṛtvijaḥ (the priests), addressing the jñānī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The spokesman gestures as if indicating a mountain, comparing the sage’s inner firmness to a peak; the sage remains still, gaze lowered.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady realization appears extraordinary to observers, prompting them to consider divine instruction as its cause—highlighting the role of grace in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an inquiry about the origin of spiritual awakening.