Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

राज्ञ्युवाच । त्रिकालज्ञोऽसि राजेन्द्र प्रसादाद्गिरिजापतेः । मत्पूर्वजन्मचरितं वक्तुमर्हसि तत्त्वतः

Transliteration

rājñyuvāca | trikālajño'si rājendra prasādādgirijāpateḥ | matpūrvajanmacaritaṃ vaktumarhasi tattvataḥ

Translation

Hoàng hậu thưa: “Muôn tâu Đại vương, nhờ ân phúc của Girijā-pati Śiva, bệ hạ là bậc biết rõ ba thời. Vậy xin bệ hạ hãy chân thật kể cho thiếp chuyện tiền sinh của thiếp đúng theo chân lý.”

Word by Word

• rājñī: the queen
• rājñī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājñī (राज्ञी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपद

• trikālajñaḥ: knower of the three times
• trikālajñaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri + kāla + jña (त्रि + काल + ज्ञ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative: त्रिकालं जानाति); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• asi: you are
• asi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• rājendra: O king of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan + indra (राजन् + इन्द्र प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (descriptive: राज्ञां इन्द्रः); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• prasādāt: by the grace (from the favor)
• prasādāt: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रसाद प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी (5th case/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• girijāpateḥ: of Girijā’s lord (Śiva)
• girijāpateḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: girijā + pati (गिरिजा + पति प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: गिरिजायाः पतिः); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th case/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• mat: my
• mat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी-एकवचन-रूप (Genitive singular stem-form used in compound: ‘my’)

• pūrvajanmacaritam: the account of (my) previous birth
• pūrvajanmacaritam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva + janma + carita (पूर्व + जन्म + चरित प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• vaktum: to tell
• vaktum: Prayojana/Anukriya (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (indeclinable infinitive)

• arhasi: you are able/fit
• arhasi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arh (अर्ह् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपद

• tattvataḥ: truly, in reality
• tattvataḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tattvatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Rājñī (Queen)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The queen respectfully questions the king, acknowledging his trikāla-jñāna gained by Śiva’s grace, asking for the truthful account of her former birth.

Characters & Entities

• Girijāpati (Śiva)
• trikāla-jñāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace is presented as the source of higher knowledge, which should be used for truthful guidance and self-understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the focus is on Śiva’s grace and the unfolding of a past-life account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it is a narrative transition into past-birth exposition.