Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

ततो देवगणाः सर्वे संदेहं परमं गताः । यज्ञभागविहीनत्वान्मंत्रं चक्रुस्ततो मिथः

Transliteration

tato devagaṇāḥ sarve saṃdehaṃ paramaṃ gatāḥ | yajñabhāgavihīnatvānmaṃtraṃ cakrustato mithaḥ

Translation

ثم إنّ جموعَ الآلهة كلَّها وقعت في أقصى درجات الشكّ؛ ولما حُرموا أنصبتهم في اليَجْنَة (القربان)، تشاوروا فيما بينهم وتداولوا الرأي.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘thereupon/then’

• devagaṇāḥ: groups of gods
• devagaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां गणाः)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (devagaṇāḥ)

• saṃdeham: doubt
• saṃdeham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdeha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मपदम्

• paramam: great, extreme
• paramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (saṃdeham)

• gatāḥ: having gone/attained
• gatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘gone/attained’ (गताḥ = प्राप्ताः)

• yajñabhāgavihīnatvāt: because of being deprived of the sacrificial share
• yajñabhāgavihīnatvāt: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/अपादान-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक) + vihīna (प्रातिपदिक) + -tva (त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेतौ अपादानम्; समासः—(यज्ञभागेन विहीनम्) इति तत्पुरुषः + तद्धित/भाववाचक ‘त्व’

• mantram: a counsel/plan (lit. mantra)
• mantram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• cakruḥ: they made
• cakruḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदम्; ‘they made/did’

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘then/thereupon’

• mithaḥ: mutually, among themselves
• mithaḥ: Sambandha (Mutual relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mithas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (परस्परार्थक क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘mutually/among themselves’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Assemblage of devas, led by Indra, troubled and debating; imagery of empty offering-plates and absent smoke from yajñas; a council scene charged with urgency.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Yajña-bhāga (sacrificial shares)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Yajña is portrayed as a sacred economy linking humans and devas; when offerings cease, divine order is threatened and corrective action becomes necessary.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a narrative bridge toward restoration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it notes the consequence of interrupted yajña—loss of yajña-bhāga for the devas.