Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । तत्रासीच्छूद्रसंभूतः पौंड्रकोनाम नामतः । बालभावे समं मित्रैः स क्रीडति दिवानिशम्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | tatrāsīcchūdrasaṃbhūtaḥ pauṃḍrakonāma nāmataḥ | bālabhāve samaṃ mitraiḥ sa krīḍati divāniśam

Translation

Сута сказал: Там жил человек, рождённый в семье шудр, по имени Паундрака. В детстве он играл с друзьями день и ночь.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta (the narrator)
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Parasmaipada

• tatra: there
• tatra: Desha/Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (there)

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Existence/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Parasmaipada

• śūdra-saṃbhūtaḥ: born of a Śūdra
• śūdra-saṃbhūtaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhūta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) from sam-√bhū ‘born/originated’

• pauṃḍrakaḥ: Pauṇḍraka (name)
• pauṃḍrakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pauṃḍraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• nāma: by name
• nāma: Sambandha (Naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (quotative/‘by name’)

• nāmataḥ: as regards his name
• nāmataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (in respect of name/as to name)

• bāla-bhāve: in childhood
• bāla-bhāve: Adhikarana (State/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; Locative singular

• samam: together (with)
• samam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोग; क्रियाविशेषण (together/equally)

• mitraiḥ: with friends
• mitraiḥ: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अत्र ‘मित्र’), तृतीया-विभक्ति (सह/साधन), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Demonstrative pronoun, nominative singular

• krīḍati: plays, sports
• krīḍati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Parasmaipada

• divā-niśam: day and night
• divā-niśam: Kala (Temporal adverb/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: divā (अव्यय) + niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषण (day and night/constantly)

Speaker

Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A village edge near a shrine-town: a Śūdra-born boy named Pauṇḍraka plays with friends in open ground, day turning to night, suggesting an ordinary life about to intersect with sacred narrative.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Pauṇḍraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma is taught through lived stories; even ordinary lives become vehicles for karmic instruction within a tīrtha setting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing tīrtha narrative of Adhyāya 58; the subsequent story is situated ‘there’ in the same sacred-geographical context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces the character and setting for the moral episode.