Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

व्यंजनैर्हन्ति वै पुत्रान्कुलं हन्यात्पयोधरा । गतिमिष्टां तथा लोकान्हंति सा रजसा पितुः

Transliteration

vyaṃjanairhanti vai putrānkulaṃ hanyātpayodharā | gatimiṣṭāṃ tathā lokānhaṃti sā rajasā pituḥ

Translation

بسبب الأطعمة المتكلَّفة غير اللائقة تُهلك الأبناء؛ وبسبب ثدييها (أي بتعلّق الشهوة) تُفسد السلالة. وبنجاسة حيضها تعوق مسار الأب الذي يبتغيه، وتصدّه عن العوالم التي يقصدها بالدَّرما.

Word by Word

• vyaṃjanaiḥ: by adornments/marks
• vyaṃjanaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyaṃjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• hanti: kills/destroys
• hanti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (हन्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• putrān: sons
• putrān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• kulam: family/lineage
• kulam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• hanyāt: would destroy
• hanyāt: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (हन्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• payodharā: a breast-bearing woman (woman with breasts)
• payodharā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: payo-dhara (payaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक))
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पयः धरतीति/पयोधरा)

• gatim: course, destiny
• gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iṣṭām: desired, wished-for
• iṣṭām: Karma-qualifier
• Type: Adjective
• Root: iṣṭa (√iṣ (इष्) + kta)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying gati)

• tathā: likewise, also
• tathā: Connector/Adverbial
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/conjunction: ‘also/likewise’)

• lokān: worlds
• lokān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• hanti: destroys
• hanti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (हन्)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• rajasā: by menses
• rajasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• pituḥ: of the father
• pituḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in the snippet (context: Śiva instructing Pārvatī in Śrāddhakalpa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral allegory tableau: a household lineage tree withering as indulgence and impurity are personified; a father’s ritual path (a luminous road to higher lokas) is shown obstructed by a dark veil labeled rajas/impurity, while a sage points in admonition.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha and pitṛ-related rites are portrayed as highly purity-sensitive; indulgence and impurity are said to obstruct spiritual welfare and lineage stability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader context is Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya), though this verse itself is a dharma/eligibility warning within the Śrāddha section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it frames consequences connected to purity and conduct relevant to śrāddha and pitṛ-kārya.