Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ऋषय ऊचुः । भृगोः पुत्रो मृकण्डस्तु क्षीणायुस्तस्य बालकः । अकालेन पिता ज्ञात्वा बबंधास्य च मेखलाम्

Transliteration

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | bhṛgoḥ putro mṛkaṇḍastu kṣīṇāyustasya bālakaḥ | akālena pitā jñātvā babaṃdhāsya ca mekhalām

Translation

Die Rishis sprachen: „Mṛkaṇḍa, der Sohn Bhṛgus, hat einen Knaben von kurzer Lebensspanne. Als der Vater dies vor der Zeit (des Todes) erkannte, band er ihm die Mekhalā, den Gürtel des Brahmacārin, um.“

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: the sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ऊचुः: said
• ऊचुः: Kriyā (Main predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद) / परोक्षभूत (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• भृगोः: of Bhṛgu
• भृगोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृगु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• मृकण्डः: Mṛkaṇḍa
• मृकण्डः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृकण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम

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

• क्षीणायुः: short-lived / with waning lifespan
• क्षीणायुः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षीण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘क्षीणं आयुः यस्य’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (बालकः)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• बालकः: the child
• बालकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बालक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• अकालेन: prematurely / at an improper time
• अकालेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतु (by untimeliness/too early)

• पिता: the father
• पिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ज्ञात्वा: having learned
• ज्ञात्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive), धातु: √ज्ञा; ‘having known’

• बबन्ध: tied / bound
• बबन्ध: Kriyā (Main predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद) / परोक्षभूत (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• अस्य: of this (boy)
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• मेखलाम्: girdle / waist-band
• मेखलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेखला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Saptarṣis)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sages explain: Mṛkaṇḍa, Bhṛgu’s son, has a short-lived child; foreknowing death, the father ties the brahmacārin’s girdle on him.

Characters & Entities

• Bhṛgu
• Mṛkaṇḍa
• brahmacārin (boy ascetic)
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When mortality is foreseen, dharmic initiation and disciplined life are embraced as spiritual refuge and remedy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The account is narrated within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, connecting personal destiny with sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mekhalā-dhāraṇa, a key element associated with upanayana and brahmacarya discipline, is referenced.