Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वेति वाक्यं व्यासस्य नैमिषारण्यवासिनः । प्रवेपमानहृदयाः परिप्रोचुरिदं वचः

Transliteration

śrutveti vākyaṃ vyāsasya naimiṣāraṇyavāsinaḥ | pravepamānahṛdayāḥ pariprocuridaṃ vacaḥ

Translation

ครั้นได้สดับถ้อยคำของพระวยาสะแล้ว ชาวไนมิษารัณยะ—ด้วยดวงใจสั่นสะท้าน—จึงทูลถามท่านด้วยวาจาดังต่อไปนี้

Word by Word

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √śru (श्रु) + क्त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): ‘having heard’

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-कार (quotative particle)

• vākyam: statement
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vyāsasya: of Vyāsa
• vyāsasya: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• naimiṣa-araṇya-vāsinaḥ: the residents of Naimiṣa forest
• naimiṣa-araṇya-vāsinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naimiṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + araṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (नैमिषारण्ये वसन्ति)

• pravepamāna-hṛdayāḥ: whose hearts were trembling
• pravepamāna-hṛdayāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pravepamāna (कृदन्त; √vep (वेप्) + प्र-; शतृ/मान-प्रत्यय) + hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (येषां हृदयम् प्रवेपते)

• pariprocuḥ: asked (repeatedly)
• pariprocuḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√prach (प्रच्छ्)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संकेत-सर्वनाम

• vacaḥ: speech/words
• vacaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa style narration; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Naimiṣāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience of the Purāṇa (implicit) / the sages within the story

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forest hermitage assembly: Vyāsa’s words have just been spoken; sages clutch prayer beads, some with widened eyes and trembling hands; the sacrificial fire glows; leaves stir as if the cosmos responds to doctrine.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Naimiṣāraṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry: profound teachings evoke humility and careful questioning from sincere seekers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Naimiṣāraṇya is referenced as the sacred forest setting for the sages’ assembly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces a question-and-answer sequence in the narrative.