Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

आसतुर्ब्राह्मणौ पूर्वं लिखितः शंख एव च । भ्रातरौ वेदविदुषौ तपस्युग्रे व्यवस्थितौ

Transliteration

āsaturbrāhmaṇau pūrvaṃ likhitaḥ śaṃkha eva ca | bhrātarau vedaviduṣau tapasyugre vyavasthitau

Translation

పూర్వకాలంలో లిఖితుడు, శంఖుడు అనే ఇద్దరు బ్రాహ్మణ సోదరులు ఉండేవారు—వేదవిద్వాంసులు, ఘోర తపస్సులో స్థిరంగా నిలిచినవారు.

Word by Word

• āsatuḥ: there were, lived
• āsatuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ās (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः, द्विवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• brāhmaṇau: two brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (कर्ता), द्विवचनम्

• pūrvam: formerly
• pūrvam: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvam (अव्यय/नपुंसक-रूप)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (temporal adverb: formerly)

• likhitaḥ: Likhita (name)
• likhitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: likhita (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; व्यक्तिनाम (proper name)

• śaṃkhaḥ: Śaṅkha (name)
• śaṃkhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkha (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; व्यक्तिनाम

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारण-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• bhrātarau: two brothers
• bhrātarau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhrātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम्; समानााधिकरण (brāhmaṇau)

• vedaviduṣau: learned in the Vedas
• vedaviduṣau: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda + vidvas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम्; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (वेदं विद्वान्) विशेषणम् (भ्रातरौ)

• tapasi: in austerity
• tapasi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरण), एकवचनम्

• ugre: severe
• ugre: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ugra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (tapasi)

• vyavasthitau: were established/engaged
• vyavasthitau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + ava + sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकृदन्तम् (past active participle), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम्; कर्तरि

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaṅkhatīrtha (origin narrative begins)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The King (pārthiva), contextually Siddhasena

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two brāhmaṇa brothers, Śaṅkha and Likhita, sit in austere posture with matted hair and sacred threads, reciting Veda and performing severe tapas in a forest hermitage—foreshadowing a sacred geography’s birth.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Likhita
• Śaṅkha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vedic learning joined with tapas is portrayed as the foundation for sacred events that later sanctify places and become tīrtha traditions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse begins the backstory leading to the manifestation connected with Śaṃkhatīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it highlights tapas (austerity) as the brothers’ discipline.