Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

इत्युक्तो धर्मपुत्रोऽयं कृष्णेनाद्भुतदर्शनः । सानुजः प्रययौ शीघ्रं गन्धमादनपर्वतम्

Transliteration

ityukto dharmaputro'yaṃ kṛṣṇenādbhutadarśanaḥ | sānujaḥ prayayau śīghraṃ gandhamādanaparvatam

Translation

เมื่อกฤษณะตรัสดังนี้แก่โอรสแห่งธรรมผู้มีทัศนะอัศจรรย์ เขาจึงออกเดินทางโดยเร็วพร้อมน้องชายทั้งหลายสู่ภูเขาคันธมาทนะ

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Discourse marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-समाप्ति निपात (quotative particle)

• उक्तः: (being) addressed/told
• उक्तः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: कृतान्त—क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having been told/said to’

• धर्मपुत्रः: the son of Dharma (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• धर्मपुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (धर्मस्य पुत्रः)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कृष्णेन: by Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णेन: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• अद्भुतदर्शनः: of wondrous appearance/vision
• अद्भुतदर्शनः: Karta-qualifier
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अद्भुत (प्रातिपदिक) + दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (अद्भुतं दर्शनं यस्य) ; विशेषण धर्मपुत्रः इति

• सानुजः: together with his younger brothers
• सानुजः: Karta-qualifier
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय-सह) + अनुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव (अनुजैः सह) ; विशेषण (with his younger brothers)

• प्रययौ: went forth
• प्रययौ: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + या (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• शीघ्रम्: quickly
• शीघ्रम्: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शीघ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• गन्धमादनपर्वतम्: to Mount Gandhamādana
• गन्धमादनपर्वतम्: Karma (Goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धमादन (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी/कर्मधारयार्थ-तत्पुरुष (गन्धमादनः पर्वतः)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration of events)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kṛṣṇa finishes counsel; Yudhiṣṭhira, radiant with ‘adbhuta-darśana’, departs with brothers; the path rises toward a fragrant, cloud-crowned mountain; forested slopes, celestial beings hinted in the sky; sense of swift purposeful travel.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Dharma-putra (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Younger brothers (Pāṇḍavas)
• Gandhamādana mountain

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Guidance from the righteous (and divine) leads to swift engagement with sacred places, showing pilgrimage as an active expression of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate destination named is Mount Gandhamādana, within the broader Lakṣmī-tīrtha narrative of Setukhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it narrates the departure undertaken in response to Kṛṣṇa’s instruction.