Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । ततः स कथयामास पूर्वजातिसमुद्भवम् । वृत्तांतं तन्मुनींद्राणां तेषां ब्राह्मणसत्तमाः

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | tataḥ sa kathayāmāsa pūrvajātisamudbhavam | vṛttāṃtaṃ tanmunīṃdrāṇāṃ teṣāṃ brāhmaṇasattamāḥ

Translation

సూతుడు పలికెను—అప్పుడు, హే బ్రాహ్మణశ్రేష్ఠులారా, అతడు పూర్వజన్మమునుండి ఉద్భవించిన ఆ వృత్తాంతాన్ని వివరించెను—ఆ మునీంద్రుల విషయమైన సంపూర్ణ ప్రసంగాన్ని.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय; तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb: ‘then/thereupon’)

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

• kathayāmāsa: narrated/told
• kathayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (नामधातु; कथ्/कथा-आधारित)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• pūrva-jāti-samudbhavam: arisen from a former birth
• pūrva-jāti-samudbhavam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + jāti (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; ‘vṛttāntam’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• vṛttāntam: account/narrative
• vṛttāntam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛttānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tad-munīndraṇām: of those sage-lords
• tad-munīndraṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + muni-indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• brāhmaṇa-sattamāḥ: the best brahmins
• brāhmaṇa-sattamāḥ: Karta (Appositional/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; श्रोतृसम्बोधनार्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते (contextually addressed)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta narrator)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta frames the moment: the king begins a long narration of a former-birth episode concerning eminent sages; the scene shifts toward storytelling—listeners attentive, time layered.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Munīndras (great sages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-māhātmya often unfolds through karmic continuity—past-life events illuminate present spiritual outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is a narrative transition and does not name the tīrtha directly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it signals the beginning of a detailed account.