Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

उद्धवस्तं जनं दृष्ट्वा कृष्णस्नेहहृताशयम् । आश्वासयामास तदा वाक्यैः श्रोत्रसुखावहैः

Transliteration

uddhavastaṃ janaṃ dṛṣṭvā kṛṣṇasnehahṛtāśayam | āśvāsayāmāsa tadā vākyaiḥ śrotrasukhāvahaiḥ

Translation

Als Uddhava jene Menschen sah, deren Herzen von der Liebe zu Kṛṣṇa fortgerissen waren, tröstete er sie damals mit Worten, die dem Ohr wohltaten.

Word by Word

• uddhavaḥ: Uddhava
• uddhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uddhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tam: that (him/that)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• janam: people, person/group
• janam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having seen’

• kṛṣṇa-sneha-hṛta-āśayam: whose heart/mind was carried away by love for Krishna
• kṛṣṇa-sneha-hṛta-āśayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘janam’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + sneha (प्रातिपदिक) + hṛta (कृदन्त, √hṛ ‘to take’) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कृष्णस्य स्नेहेन हृतः आशयः यस्य)

• āśvāsayāmāsa: consoled
• āśvāsayāmāsa: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√śvas (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; causative sense (णिच्) ‘he consoled’

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• vākyaiḥ: with words
• vākyaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• śrotra-sukha-āvahaiḥ: bringing pleasure to the ears
• śrotra-sukha-āvahaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘vākyaiḥ’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrotra (प्रातिपदिक) + sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (श्रोत्रस्य सुखम् आवहन्ति ये)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual narration leading into Uddhava’s speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (frame) / Vraja (evoked)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Uddhava, compassionate and composed, addresses the grief-struck devotees; his words are depicted as soothing waves, calming their trembling bodies and minds.

Characters & Entities

• Uddhava
• Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True religious counsel (dharma-upadeśa) is compassionate and soothing, guiding grief toward remembrance and steadiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, as the sacred arena where Kṛṣṇa’s associates speak and where devotees are spiritually instructed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the emphasis is on śānti (consolation) through dharmic speech.