Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । इति सारस्वतवचः श्रुत्वा भोजः स भूपतिः । नमस्कृत्य मुनिश्रेष्ठं पूजयामास भक्तितः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | iti sārasvatavacaḥ śrutvā bhojaḥ sa bhūpatiḥ | namaskṛtya muniśreṣṭhaṃ pūjayāmāsa bhaktitaḥ

Translation

ایشور نے کہا: یوں سارَسوت کے کلمات سن کر، وہ بھوپتی بھوج راجہ، برگزیدہ مُنی کو نمسکار کر کے بھکتی سے اس کی پوجا کرنے لگا۔

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (quotative particle)

• sārasvata-vacaḥ: Sārasvata’s words
• sārasvata-vacaḥ: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sārasvata + vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: सारस्वतस्य वचः

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• bhojaḥ: Bhoja
• bhojaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhoja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• bhūpatiḥ: the king
• bhūpatiḥ: Karta (Appositional subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: भूः पाति इति/भू-पालकः

• namaskṛtya: having saluted
• namaskṛtya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) from denom. ‘namaskṛ’

• muni-śreṣṭham: the best of sages
• muni-śreṣṭham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: मुनीनां श्रेष्ठः

• pūjayāmāsa: worshipped/honoured
• pūjayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Periphrastic Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhaktitaḥ: out of devotion
• bhaktitaḥ: Hetu (Cause/Motive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे (adverbial ablative: ‘out of devotion’)

Speaker

Īśvara

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpathakṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Primary frame-audience (within Skanda Purāṇa narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: King Bhoja bows with folded hands before sage Sārasvata; attendants stand behind; the sage sits on kuśa seat near a small fire altar; atmosphere of respectful closure after teaching.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Sārasvata
• Bhoja

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True listening to dharma culminates in humility and reverence toward realized sages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context remains Vastrāpathakṣetra in Prabhāsa-kṣetra, whose greatness has just been heard.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offering respectful homage (namaskāra) and devotional honour (pūjā) to a muni is presented as proper conduct.