Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

असूत शापजं घोरं तच्च राज्ञे न्यवेदयत् । विषण्णोऽथ ततो राजा सूक्ष्मं चूर्णमकारयत्

Transliteration

asūta śāpajaṃ ghoraṃ tacca rājñe nyavedayat | viṣaṇṇo'tha tato rājā sūkṣmaṃ cūrṇamakārayat

Translation

Er brachte jenes schreckliche, aus einem Fluch geborene Ding hervor und meldete es dem König. Da ließ der König, bekümmert, es zu feinstem Pulver zermahlen.

Word by Word

• असूत: produced
• असूत: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• शापजम्: born of a curse
• शापजम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाप (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः ‘शापात् जातम्’ (born from a curse)

• घोरम्: terrible
• घोरम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• राज्ञे: to the king
• राज्ञे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान), एकवचन

• न्यवेदयत्: informed; reported
• न्यवेदयत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि+विद् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense ‘made known/informed’

• विषण्णः: dejected
• विषण्णः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषण्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/now)

• ततः: thereupon
• ततः: Hetu/Anantarya (Thereupon)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/क्रमवाचक (thereupon/from that)

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सूक्ष्मम्: fine
• सूक्ष्मम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘fine’ (qualifies cūrṇam)

• चूर्णम्: powder
• चूर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• अकारयत्: had (it) made; caused to be prepared
• अकारयत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रेरणार्थक (causative) ‘caused to be made’

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A distressed king orders the dreadful curse-born object to be pulverized into fine powder—an anxious court scene with attendants grinding, shadows of fate looming.

Characters & Entities

• Sāmba (implied)
• Rājā (king, likely Ugrasena in Yādava context)
• Muśala (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power tries to manage calamity, yet dharma teaches that inner reform—not mere external measures—averts downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the curse-object emerges and triggers the tīrtha’s famed sacred-history arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No vrata or dāna is stated; an administrative act is described—grinding the object into powder.