Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

भूरिश्रवाश्छिन्नबाहुर्युद्धे प्रायोगतस्त्वया । व्याधेनेव नृशंसेन कथं वैरेण घातितः

Transliteration

bhūriśravāśchinnabāhuryuddhe prāyogatastvayā | vyādheneva nṛśaṃsena kathaṃ vaireṇa ghātitaḥ

Translation

Bhūriśravas, dessen Arm du im Kampf durch eine Tat, die eines fairen Gefechts unwürdig ist, abgeschlagen hast—wie konnte er danach aus Feindschaft getötet werden, wie Beute, die ein grausamer Jäger niederstreckt?

Word by Word

• bhūriśravāḥ: Bhūriśravā
• bhūriśravāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūri-śravas (प्रातिपदिक; व्यक्तिनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (भूरि = बहु + श्रवाः = यशः)

• chinna-bāhuḥ: with severed arm
• chinna-bāhuḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chinna (कृदन्त; √chid) + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘छिन्नः बाहुः यस्य’ (arm-cut)

• yuddhe: in battle
• yuddhe: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• prāyogataḥ: by (your) act/through (your) use
• prāyogataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prāyogatas (अव्ययभावे तसिल्)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): ‘प्रयोगतः’ = by reason of/through (your) act/usage

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• vyādhena: by a hunter
• vyādhena: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyādha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• iva: as if/like
• iva: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय

• nṛśaṃsena: cruel
• nṛśaṃsena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nṛśaṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘वैरेण’/कर्तृ-भावे विशेषणम्

• katham: how?
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (how?)

• vaireṇa: by enmity/with hostility
• vaireṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• ghātitaḥ: was killed/caused to be slain
• ghātitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-विशेष्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghāt (णिच् causative of √han/√ghāt) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘घातितः’ = caused to be slain

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (context: Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative; likely a Yādava elder addressing Keśava/Kṛṣṇa or recounting blame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kṛtavarman accuses Sātyaki/Keśava’s side by recalling Bhūriśravas: the severed arm, the unfair strike, and the hunter-like slaying; listeners tense, some avert eyes in shame.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūriśravas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even great warriors are judged by dharma: victory gained through unfair means ripens into blame, remorse, and destructive consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (near Somanātha), where Purāṇic tradition situates the turning-point events leading to the Yādavas’ end.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is an ethical indictment concerning conduct in war.