Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

यत्राश्वत्थं समासाद्य समाधिन्यस्तमानसः । मुमोच दुस्त्यजान्प्राणान्ब्रह्मद्वारेण केशवः

Transliteration

yatrāśvatthaṃ samāsādya samādhinyastamānasaḥ | mumoca dustyajānprāṇānbrahmadvāreṇa keśavaḥ

Translation

Dort näherte sich Keśava dem heiligen Aśvattha-Baum und versenkte den Geist in Samādhi; durch das Brahma-Tor gab er den schwer aufzugebenden Lebenshauch preis.

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक), ‘where’

• aśvattham: the aśvattha tree
• aśvattham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśvattha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्म (object of samāsādya)

• samāsādya: having approached
• samāsādya: Kriya (Gerund; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-sad (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-प्रत्यय; absolutive), ‘having approached/reached’

• samādhi-nyasta-mānasaḥ: whose mind was fixed in samādhi
• samādhi-nyasta-mānasaḥ: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samādhi (प्रातिपदिक) + nyasta (कृदन्त; √ni-as) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुपद-समासः—‘samādhau nyastaṃ mānasaṃ yasya’ इति (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्रयोग), विशेषणम् (of keśavaḥ)

• mumoca: released, let go
• mumoca: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• dustyajān: hard to give up
• dustyajān: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dus-tyaja (प्रातिपदिक; tyaja from √tyaj)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; ‘duḥkhen tyajyāḥ’ (कर्मधारय), विशेषणम् (of prāṇān)

• prāṇān: life-breaths, vital airs
• prāṇān: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; कर्म (object of mumoca)

• brahmadvāreṇa: through the Brahma-gate
• brahmadvāreṇa: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; ‘brahmaṇaḥ dvāram’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); करण—‘through the Brahma-gate’

• keśavaḥ: Keśava (Viṣṇu)
• keśavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context; explicit from v.16)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aśvattha-sthāna of Keśava’s mahā-samādhi (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Keśava sits beneath a sacred aśvattha tree in deep samādhi, body serene, gaze inward; subtle light rises from the crown (brahma-dvāra) as prāṇa departs. The grove is still; distant sea/shore hints at Prabhāsa’s coastal sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvattha
• Samādhi
• Keśava
• Brahma-dvāra
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is portrayed as a supreme locus where even divine beings enact yogic departure, highlighting the sanctity of place and meditation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, with a sacred aśvattha associated with Keśava’s samādhi.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it narrates samādhi and the yogic release of prāṇa through the Brahma-dvāra.