Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु यज्ञदानादिकाः क्रियाः । प्रणष्टा भूतले राजंस्तीर्थयात्राव्रतोद्भवाः

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle tu yajñadānādikāḥ kriyāḥ | praṇaṣṭā bhūtale rājaṃstīrthayātrāvratodbhavāḥ

Translation

وفي ذلك الوقت بعينه، أيها الملك، اندثرت من على وجه الأرض أعمالُ الياجْنَة والصدقة وما شابهها، ومعها زالتُ المراقباتُ الدينية الناشئة عن حجّ التيـرثا المقدّسة وعن نذور الوِرَتَة (vrata).

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative, Singular (‘in this’)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) — emphatic particle

• काले: at the time
• काले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/अन्वय) — adversative/connecting particle

• यज्ञदानादिकाः: such as sacrifices and gifts
• यज्ञदानादिकाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यज्ञ + दान + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Plural; qualifying क्रियाः; (यज्ञं च दानं च आदिः येषाम्)

• क्रियाः: rites/acts
• क्रियाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रणष्टाः: were lost/vanished
• प्रणष्टाः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√नश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — past passive participle ‘destroyed/vanished’, agreeing with क्रियाः

• भूतले: on the earth
• भूतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Neuter, Locative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तीर्थयात्राव्रतोद्भवाः: arising from pilgrimage-vows
• तीर्थयात्राव्रतोद्भवाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ + यात्रा + व्रत + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Plural; qualifying क्रियाः; (तीर्थयात्रा-व्रत-उद्भवाः = arising from pilgrimage-vows)

Speaker

Pulastya (narrator) (deduced from nearby 'Pulastya uvāca')

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa-sattama (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate ritual landscape: abandoned yajña-vedis, extinguished sacred fires, empty ghats, pilgrims absent; the earth appears spiritually ‘dry’.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• rājan
• tīrtha
• vrata
• yajña
• dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When pilgrimage, vows, sacrifice, and charity fade, dharma weakens on earth; sacred practice is portrayed as the support of cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda (Mount Abu) sacred region is the setting within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa, framing tīrtha-yātrā as a sustaining force of dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yajña (sacrifice), dāna (charity), tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage), and vrata (vowed observance) are referenced as key religious disciplines.