Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 159

Devanagari script

आमपात्रे पुनर्दुग्धा त्वंतर्द्धानमियं मही । वत्सं वैश्रवणं कृत्वा यक्षपुण्यजनैस्तथा

Transliteration

āmapātre punardugdhā tvaṃtarddhānamiyaṃ mahī | vatsaṃ vaiśravaṇaṃ kṛtvā yakṣapuṇyajanaistathā

Translation

ومرّةً أخرى حُلِبت هذه الأرض في إناءٍ من طينٍ غيرِ مفخور؛ وكان «لبنها» قوّةَ «الاختفاء/التلاشي». وجُعِلَ فايشرَفَنا (كوبيرا) عِجلاً، وحلبها اليكشاتُ والـ«بونيَجَنَة» كذلك.

Word by Word

• आमपात्रे: in an unbaked vessel
• आमपात्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आम (प्रातिपदिक) + पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आम-पात्र), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• दुग्धा: was milked
• दुग्धा: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रियाविशेषण-भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुह् (धातु) → दुग्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular), उत्तम-पुरुषार्थक सर्वनाम

• अन्तर्धानम्: disappearance; concealment
• अन्तर्धानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर्धान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• मही: earth
• मही: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• वत्सम्: calf
• वत्सम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• वैश्रवणम्: Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera)
• वैश्रवणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्रवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वकाल (prior action)

• यक्षपुण्यजनैः: by the Yakṣas and Puṇyajanas
• यक्षपुण्यजनैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent group/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्यजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (यक्ष + पुण्यजन), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तथा: thus; likewise
• तथा: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from section context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (rishis/disciples in frame typical of mahatmyas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mythic tableau: the Earth as a cow being milked into an unbaked clay pot; Kubera/Vaiśravaṇa as the calf; Yakṣas and Puṇyajanas as attendants amid jewel-laden groves, with a subtle aura of ‘vanishing’ rising like mist from the milk-stream.

Characters & Entities

• Mahī (Earth)
• Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera)
• Yakṣa
• Puṇyajana
• Antardhāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Different communities draw different ‘essences’ from the world; here, Yakṣa-associated powers like antardhāna are portrayed as their characteristic attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa is the māhātmya setting; the cosmic episode functions as a sacred-context narrative within that pilgrimage section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes mythic extraction (duhana) rather than prescribing a sādhana.