Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

यम उवाच । यमः संयमनश्चास्मि सर्वलोकभयंकरः

Transliteration

yama uvāca | yamaḥ saṃyamanaścāsmi sarvalokabhayaṃkaraḥ

Translation

Yama sprach: «Ich bin Yama, der Zügelnde (Saṃyamana), der allen Welten Furcht einflößt.»

Word by Word

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• संयमनः: Saṃyamana (the restrainer)
• संयमनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; नाम (epithet)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• अस्मि: I am
• अस्मि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु; भुवि)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• सर्वलोकभयंकरः: terrifying to all worlds
• सर्वलोकभयंकरः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-लोक-भयङ्कर (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + लोक + भयङ्कर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Yama

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Unnamed ‘puruṣa-śreṣṭha’ addressed in prior verse-context; immediately relevant to Sāvitrī/Satyavrata episode

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama declares his identity: a formidable, authoritative figure, dark-hued or radiant with stern majesty, holding pāśa, evoking fear across worlds.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Saṃyamana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic order is upheld by restraint and accountability—Yama embodies the inescapable moral governance of life and death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya provides the sacred setting; this verse introduces Yama rather than praising a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an identification statement within the dialogue.