Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

इत्युक्त्वाऽह द्विजेन्द्रः स एवं कुरु नृपोत्तम । एवं राज्ञा समादिष्टः प्रतीहारो ययौ वनम्

Transliteration

ityuktvā'ha dvijendraḥ sa evaṃ kuru nṛpottama | evaṃ rājñā samādiṣṭaḥ pratīhāro yayau vanam

Translation

وبعد أن قال ذلك، قال أفضلُ البراهمة: «افعلْ هكذا، يا خيرَ الملوك». ولمّا أمر الملكُ بذلك، مضى البراتيهارا، حاجبُ القصر، إلى الغابة.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त; पूर्वकाल (absolutive/gerund)

• āha: said
• āha: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dvijendraḥ: the chief of the twice-born (brahmin leader)
• dvijendraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dvijānām indraḥ)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• evam: thus; in this way
• evam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb of manner)

• kuru: do
• kuru: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• nṛpottama: O best of kings
• nṛpottama: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (श्रेष्ठः नृपः)

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक

• rājñā: by the king
• rājñā: Karana/Agent-in-passive (Instrumental/करण; कर्तृ-तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• samādiṣṭaḥ: having been ordered; commanded
• samādiṣṭaḥ: Kriya (Passive predicate/क्रियापद-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-diś (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त (क्त-प्रत्यय) भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि प्रयोग; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pratīhāraḥ: the doorkeeper/attendant
• pratīhāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratīhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• yayau: went
• yayau: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vanam: to the forest
• vanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator voice; quoted speech by Sārasvata (dvijendra)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable Brahmin instructs the king: 'Do so.' The king issues orders; the chamberlain departs toward the forest to carry out the task connected to the tīrtha remedy.

Characters & Entities

• dvijendra (Sārasvata)
• nṛpottama (king)
• pratīhāra
• vana (forest)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is enacted through obedient action: the king follows rishi counsel and promptly implements the required steps.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The command advances the plot toward Vastrāpatha, the celebrated mahātīrtha of this section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An instruction to perform an action (‘evaṃ kuru’) is issued, operationalized by sending an attendant; details unfold in subsequent verses.