Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । इति कृष्णवचः श्रुत्वा गोप्यः संहृष्टमानसाः । तस्मिन्मयसरे स्नात्वा विमुक्ताऽशेषबन्धनाः

Transliteration

śrīprahlāda uvāca | iti kṛṣṇavacaḥ śrutvā gopyaḥ saṃhṛṣṭamānasāḥ | tasminmayasare snātvā vimuktā'śeṣabandhanāḥ

Translation

Prahlāda sprach: Als sie Kṛṣṇas Worte vernommen hatten, badeten die gopīs, im Herzen voll Freude, in jenem See der Māyā; und durch dieses Bad wurden sie von allen Fesseln restlos befreit.

Word by Word

• śrīprahlādaḥ: the revered Prahlada
• śrīprahlādaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + prahlāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (श्रीमान् प्रह्लादः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (nominative singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• kṛṣṇavacaḥ: Krishna's words
• kṛṣṇavacaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णस्य वचः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (accusative singular)

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Pūrvakāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √śru (धातु) + ktvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund: having heard)

• gopyaḥ: the cowherd women
• gopyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (nominative plural)

• saṃhṛṣṭamānasāḥ: whose minds were delighted
• saṃhṛṣṭamānasāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃhṛṣṭa (सम्-√hṛṣ + क्त, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (संहृष्टं मानसं येषाम्), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (agreeing with गोप्यः)

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (locative singular)

• mayasare: in Maya's lake
• mayasare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maya (प्रातिपदिक) + sara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मयस्य सरः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (locative singular)

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Pūrvakāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √snā (धातु) + ktvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund: having bathed)

• vimuktāḥ: freed
• vimuktāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√muc (धातु) + ta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (agreeing with गोप्यः)

• aśeṣabandhanāḥ: (freed) from all bonds
• aśeṣabandhanāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + bandhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समास (अशेषाणि बन्धनानि येषाम्/अशेषबन्धनाः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (agreeing with गोप्यः)

Speaker

Prahlāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Māyā-saras

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/assembly in the māhātmya frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gopīs, joyful and reverent, step into a lotus-filled lake; the air shimmers with a subtle ‘māyā’ radiance. As they bathe, faint chains (symbolic bonds) dissolve into light; Kṛṣṇa’s presence is felt nearby as a guiding, compassionate force.

Characters & Entities

• Prahlāda
• Kṛṣṇa
• Gopīs
• Maya (Daitya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithfully receiving Bhagavān’s instruction and performing tīrtha-snāna with devotion is portrayed as a means to cut worldly bondage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maya-saras (the lake associated with the Daitya Maya) within the Dvārakā sacred landscape described in the Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) in the sacred lake, presented as spiritually liberating when done in the Kṛṣṇa-centered tīrtha context.