Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

यत्र ते यादवाः क्षीणा ब्रह्मशापबलाहिना । एतत्पुरुषोत्तमं क्षेत्रं समन्ताद्धनुषां शतम्

Transliteration

yatra te yādavāḥ kṣīṇā brahmaśāpabalāhinā | etatpuruṣottamaṃ kṣetraṃ samantāddhanuṣāṃ śatam

Translation

Dort wurden die Yādavas vernichtet, getroffen von der Macht des Fluches Brahmās. Dies ist das heilige Gebiet Puruṣottamas, das sich ringsum in alle Richtungen über hundert Bogenlängen erstreckt.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक relative adverb)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• यादवाः: the Yādavas
• यादवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यादव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• क्षीणाः: were destroyed/decayed
• क्षीणाः: Kriya (Predicative adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षीण (प्रातिपदिक; क्षि (धातु)+क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• ब्रह्मशापबलाहिना: by the power of Brahmā’s curse
• ब्रह्मशापबलाहिना: Karana/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्म-शाप-बल-आहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; हेतुवाचक (cause/instrument)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• पुरुषोत्तमम्: supreme among persons (Puruṣottama)
• पुरुषोत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier of क्षेत्रम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुरुषोत्तम (प्रातिपदिक: पुरुष + उत्तम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• क्षेत्रम्: the sacred field
• क्षेत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• समन्तात्: on all sides
• समन्तात्: Kriya-viseshana (Extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्तात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परितः/‘on all sides’ adverb; ablatival form used adverbially)

• धनुषाम्: of bows (as a measure)
• धनुषाम्: Sambandha (Measure/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Pramana (Measure/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (numeral)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puruṣottama-kṣetra (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic sacred field marked by invisible boundaries: the aftermath of Yādava destruction under the force of a curse, while the region is proclaimed ‘Puruṣottama-kṣetra’ spanning a hundred bows in every direction.

Characters & Entities

• Yādavas
• Brahmā’s curse (brahmaśāpa)
• Puruṣottama-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even mighty clans fall under dharma’s law; the tīrtha is exalted as the sanctified stage where cosmic justice and divine presence intersect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Puruṣottama-kṣetra within the Prabhāsa region, connected to the Yādavas’ final dissolution.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse defines the kṣetra’s identity and extent.