Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

तथा सहस्रशो रौद्राश्चतुर्बाहव एव च । स्त्रीणां गर्भेष्वजायंत राक्षसा गुह्यकास्तथा

Transliteration

tathā sahasraśo raudrāścaturbāhava eva ca | strīṇāṃ garbheṣvajāyaṃta rākṣasā guhyakāstathā

Translation

তদ্রূপ সহস্র সহস্র উগ্র সত্তা—কিছু চার বাহুবিশিষ্টও—নারীদের গর্ভে জন্ম নিতে লাগল; রাক্ষস ও গুহ্যক—এও ছিল ভয়ংকর অশুভ লক্ষণ।

Word by Word

• तथा: thus/also
• तथा: Discourse/Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक (thus/also)

• सहस्रशः: by the thousand
• सहस्रशः: Manner/Quantity adverb
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-प्रकारवाचक (by thousands, in thousands)

• रौद्राः: fierce
• रौद्राः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन; विशेषण (of rākṣasāḥ/guhyakāḥ)

• चतुर्बाहवः: four-armed (ones)
• चतुर्बाहवः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक) + बाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्विगु (चत्वारः बाहवः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Emphasis particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic)

• च: and
• च: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• स्त्रीणाम्: of women
• स्त्रीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th case, genitive); बहुवचन

• गर्भेषु: in (their) wombs
• गर्भेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; बहुवचन

• अजायन्त: were born
• अजायन्त: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: धातु: जन् (to be born); लकार: लङ् (Imperfect/past); आत्मनेपद; पुरुष: प्रथम (3rd); वचन: बहुवचन

• राक्षसाः: demons (rākṣasas)
• राक्षसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन

• गुह्यकाः: guhyakas (a class of beings)
• गुह्यकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुह्यक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन; राक्षसाः इत्यस्य समुच्चय/अपपद (another class)

• तथा: also
• तथा: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनः समुच्चयार्थक

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual deduction within Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic montage: many women in distress; shadowy rākṣasa and guhyaka infants (some four-armed) appear as portent-figures rather than literal gore; sages/elders react with alarm under a darkened sky.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasa
• Guhyaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When collective dharma declines, the Purāṇas describe society itself reflecting that disorder through fearful portents; the remedy is renewed sacred discipline and turning to tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra is the Māhātmya’s focal tīrtha, toward which the narrative is driving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated here; it intensifies the sense of urgency that culminates in undertaking tīrthayātrā.