Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

तीर्थासक्ताः सपत्नीका यथालब्धोपजीविनः । महासाहसयुक्तास्ते वैतालाख्यास्तु साधकाः

Transliteration

tīrthāsaktāḥ sapatnīkā yathālabdhopajīvinaḥ | mahāsāhasayuktāste vaitālākhyāstu sādhakāḥ

Translation

Diejenigen, die den Tīrthas (heiligen Furten) zugetan sind, mit ihren Ehefrauen zusammenleben, von dem zehren, was von selbst zufällt, und von großer Kühnheit erfüllt sind—solche Übenden heißen «Vaitāla»-Sādhakas.

Word by Word

• तीर्थासक्ताः: attached to pilgrim-places
• तीर्थासक्ताः: Visheshana (Adjective of ते/साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + आसक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (तीर्थेषु आसक्ताः)

• सपत्नीकाḥ: having wives
• सपत्नीकाḥ: Visheshana (Adjective of ते/साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + पत्नीका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (पत्नी अस्ति येषाम्)

• यथा: as/according to
• यथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb)

• लब्ध: obtained
• लब्ध: Upapada (Compound member)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसक/पुं-प्रातिपदिकरूपे समासाङ्ग

• उपजीविनः: those who live by (it)
• उपजीविनः: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपजीविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• महासाहसयुक्ताः: endowed with great daring
• महासाहसयुक्ताः: Visheshana (Adjective of ते/साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + साहस (प्रातिपदिक) + युक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (महासाहसेन युक्ताः)

• ते: they/those
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वैतालाख्याः: called ‘Vaitāla’
• वैतालाख्याः: Visheshana (Name/epithet of साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैताल (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (वैताल इति आख्या येषाम्)

• तु: and/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• साधकाः: practitioners
• साधकाः: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A couple in simple attire walks along a sacred ford with offerings; they accept alms without asking; the practitioner carries a staff and looks fearless, while a faint ‘vetāla’ iconography is avoided—focus is on the epithet as a sādhaka-type, not a ghoul.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• sādhaka
• vaitāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage-centered life, contentment with chance gains, and courageous discipline are presented as a valid sādhana-path.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra and its tīrtha-culture, where varied modes of religious life are acknowledged.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single rite is prescribed; the discipline highlighted is tīrtha-āśraya (devotion to sacred places) with yathālabdha subsistence.