Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

हतं दृष्ट्वा तु शैनेयं पुत्रं च यदुनंदनः । एरकाणां तदा मुष्टिं कोपाज्जग्राह केशवः

Transliteration

hataṃ dṛṣṭvā tu śaineyaṃ putraṃ ca yadunaṃdanaḥ | erakāṇāṃ tadā muṣṭiṃ kopājjagrāha keśavaḥ

Translation

Als Keśava Śaineya erschlagen sah und ebenso seinen eigenen Sohn, er, die Freude der Yadus, ergriff er im Zorn eine Handvoll Eraka-Schilf.

Word by Word

• हतम्: slain
• हतम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् → हत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘शैनेयम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• तु: then/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात

• शैनेयम्: Śaineya (Sātyaki)
• शैनेयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैनेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पुत्रम्: son
• पुत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात

• यदुनन्दनः: descendant/son of Yadu (Kṛṣṇa)
• यदुनन्दनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यदु + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• एरकाणाम्: of the eraka reeds
• एरकाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे बहुधा तृणविशेषः), षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• मुष्टिम्: a fistful/club-like handful
• मुष्टिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कोपात्: from anger
• कोपात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

• जग्राह: seized/took
• जग्राह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• केशवः: Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
• केशवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/ Ugraśravas), narrating

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (assembly of sages; internal addressee in verses: Devī/Bhāminī—Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the shore-grove of Prabhāsa, Keśava sees Śaineya and his own son slain; his face hardens with grief and wrath as he clenches a fistful of eraka reeds, the air heavy with fate.

Characters & Entities

• Keśava
• Kṛṣṇa
• Śaineya
• Eraka
• Yadu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When Kāla ripens, even ordinary objects become instruments of fate; grief and anger catalyze irreversible turns.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the eraka motif is central to the Purāṇic remembrance of events.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse introduces the eraka reeds as the fateful means of destruction.