Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

महिषी प्रोच्यते भार्या सा वैधव्येऽभिचारिणी । तस्यां यः क्षपते दोषां स वै माहिषिकः स्मृतः

Transliteration

mahiṣī procyate bhāryā sā vaidhavye'bhicāriṇī | tasyāṃ yaḥ kṣapate doṣāṃ sa vai māhiṣikaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

„Mahiṣī“ nennt man die Gattin, die in der Witwenschaft unerlaubtes Tun begeht. Wer ihre Verfehlung beseitigt (oder damit umgeht), gilt als Māhiṣaka.

Word by Word

• mahiṣī: a buffalo-cow (female buffalo)
• mahiṣī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्

• procyate: is called
• procyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (धातु) [कर्मणि प्रयोगः]
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि (passive)

• bhāryā: wife
• bhāryā: Karta (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय-नाम (predicate nominative)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• vaidhavye: in widowhood
• vaidhavye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidhavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्

• abhicāriṇī: practising abhicāra (sorcery/illicit conduct)
• abhicāriṇī: Karta (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhi-cārinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘अभिचारं करोति’ इति (practising sorcery/unchaste conduct)

• tasyām: in her
• tasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः-शब्दः

• kṣapate: spends the night/consorts (with)
• kṣapate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣap (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• doṣām: the night
• doṣām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; ‘रात्रि’ अर्थे

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• vai: indeed
• vai: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (emphatic particle)

• māhiṣikaḥ: (is) a māhiṣika
• māhiṣikaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhiṣika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• smṛtaḥ: is considered/said
• smṛtaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘इति स्मृतः’ = ‘is considered’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/householders (implied audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-figure (ācārya) explaining to a seated group the definition of ‘māhiṣaka’; symbolic vignette shows a widow in transgressive conduct (kept discreet), and a man associated with ‘removing/dealing with her fault’, while the main focus remains on instruction and moral boundary-setting.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (contextual continuity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma texts classify certain behaviors and relations as ritually obstructive; ethical restraint safeguards the efficacy of ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the setting; the teaching is presented as part of its Māhātmya, linking place-merit with proper dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed; the verse defines a category relevant to who may or may not be fit for Śrāddha-related contexts.