Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 120

Devanagari script

रथं तेनैव मार्गेण यत्र सा तिष्ठते ध्रुवम् । एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु तत्रोत्पाताः सुदारुणाः

Transliteration

rathaṃ tenaiva mārgeṇa yatra sā tiṣṭhate dhruvam | etasminneva kāle tu tatrotpātāḥ sudāruṇāḥ

Translation

Auf demselben Weg lenkte er den Wagen dorthin, wo sie unbeirrbar stand. Genau zu dieser Zeit aber erhoben sich dort höchst schreckliche Vorzeichen.

Word by Word

• रथम्: the chariot
• रथम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• तेन: by that; along that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक (contextual), तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन (singular)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/अवधारण) = particle of emphasis; 'indeed/just'

• मार्गेण: by the path; along the route
• मार्गेण: Karana (Path as means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन (singular)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Relative location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक-सम्बन्ध) = where

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• तिष्ठते: stands; remains
• तिष्ठते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); आत्मनेपदम्; 'stands/remains'

• ध्रुवम्: certainly; firmly
• ध्रुवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्राय (क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण) = adverbial accusative; 'certainly/steadily'

• एतस्मिन्: at this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक (contextual), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (singular)

• एव: just
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) = just/indeed

• काले: time
• काले: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (singular)

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/अन्वय) = connective particle; 'but/and indeed'

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक) = locative adverb; 'there'

• उत्पाताः: portents; omens
• उत्पाताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्पात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (plural)

• सुदारुणाः: very dreadful
• सुदारुणाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + दारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (plural); विशेषणम् of 'उत्पाताः'; कर्मधारयः: सुदारुणाः (very dreadful)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda (implied kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (राजन्)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The chariot advances along the same road toward the steadfast woman; suddenly the sky darkens and ominous phenomena erupt—unnatural clouds, birds scattering, trembling trees.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Utpāta (omens)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Nature and the cosmos signal moral imbalance; ominous signs warn of adharma’s impending collapse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is identified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.