Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

ततस्ते सैनिका राजन्हतशेषाः सुदुःखिताः । स्वगृहाणि ययुस्तत्र यथा वृत्तं जने पुरे

Transliteration

tataste sainikā rājanhataśeṣāḥ suduḥkhitāḥ | svagṛhāṇi yayustatra yathā vṛttaṃ jane pure

Translation

Daraufhin kehrten die überlebenden Soldaten, o König—von tiefem Kummer erfüllt—zu ihren Häusern zurück und berichteten den Leuten der Stadt, was geschehen war.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (ततः-अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/अनन्तरार्थे (indeclinable; ‘thereupon/from that’)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (pronoun; masculine nominative plural)

• sainikāḥ: soldiers
• sainikāḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sainika (सैनिक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (masculine nominative plural)

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (राजन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन (masculine vocative singular)

• hataśeṣāḥ: the remaining survivors (after being slain)
• hataśeṣāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hata + śeṣa (हत + शेष; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (masculine nominative plural; adjective)

• suduḥkhitāḥ: very sorrowful
• suduḥkhitāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + duḥkhita (सु + दुःखित; कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (masculine nominative plural; adjective)

• svagṛhāṇi: their own homes
• svagṛhāṇi: Karma (Goal/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva + gṛha (स्व + गृह; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन (neuter accusative plural)

• yayuḥ: went
• yayuḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (तत्र-अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (indeclinable adverb of place)

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (Clause linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (यथा-अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारार्थे (indeclinable; ‘as/how’)

• vṛttam: what happened
• vṛttam: Karma (Reported matter/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtta (वृत्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (neuter nominative/accusative singular)

• jane: among the people
• jane: Adhikaraṇa (Sphere/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (जन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (masculine locative singular)

• pure: in the city
• pure: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (पुर-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (neuter locative singular)

Speaker

Pulastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small group of wounded, grieving soldiers enters the town gates; townspeople gather as the survivors recount the horrific transformation and loss, faces marked by shock and sorrow.

Characters & Entities

• Sainika (soldiers)
• Rājā (king)
• Pura (town)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma is not private: its consequences ripple through society, becoming warning and instruction for the community.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda region’s settlements around the mountain are part of the sacred geography witnessing the event.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse records the social transmission of the event as a cautionary account.