Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

जृंभः षष्ठोनुजस्तेषां स्मृताः प्रह्रादसूनवः । शुंभश्चैव निशुंभश्च गवेष्ठिनः सुतौ स्मृतौ

Transliteration

jṛṃbhaḥ ṣaṣṭhonujasteṣāṃ smṛtāḥ prahrādasūnavaḥ | śuṃbhaścaiva niśuṃbhaśca gaveṣṭhinaḥ sutau smṛtau

Translation

ويُذكَر جِرِمبها (Jṛmbha) أنه الأخُ الأصغر السادسُ بينهم؛ ويُقال إنهم أبناءُ برهلادا (Prahrāda). أمّا شُمبها (Śuṃbha) ونِشُمبها (Niśuṃbha) فيُذكَران أنهما ابنا غافيشثي (Gaveṣṭhī).

Word by Word

• जृंभः: Jṛmbha (name)
• जृंभः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jṛṃbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• षष्ठः: the sixth
• षष्ठः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal adjective)

• अनुजः: younger brother
• अनुजः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• स्मृताः: are said/remembered
• स्मृताः: Kriyā (Predicative verbal notion/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय (predicate)

• प्रह्रादसूनवः: sons of Prahlāda
• प्रह्रादसूनवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prahrāda-sūnu (प्रातिपदिक; प्रह्राद + सूनु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative)

• शुंभः: Śuṃbha (name)
• शुंभः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuṃbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• निशुंभः: Niśuṃbha (name)
• निशुंभः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśuṃbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• गवेष्ठिनः: of Gaveṣṭhin (name)
• गवेष्ठिनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaveṣṭhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive singular)

• सुतौ: two sons
• सुतौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन (Dual)

• स्मृतौ: are said/remembered
• स्मृतौ: Kriyā (Predicative verbal notion/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (chapter frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ‘genealogy tableau’: Prahlāda as ancestral figure in the background; in the foreground, asura brothers arrayed in ranks; Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha highlighted as notable descendants.

Characters & Entities

• Jṛmbha
• Prahrāda
• Śuṃbha
• Niśuṃbha
• Gaveṣṭhī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse stresses the Purāṇic view that tendencies—noble or destructive—continue through lineages, urging vigilance and discernment in the moral order (dharma).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the overarching sacred setting, though this particular verse is a lineage catalog rather than a tīrtha description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction appears in this verse.