Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

तृषार्तो वाऽपिबत्तोयं शशकेन समन्वितम् । अस्थिशेषं तु तत्तस्य कायं पीयूषभक्षणात्

Transliteration

tṛṣārto vā'pibattoyaṃ śaśakena samanvitam | asthiśeṣaṃ tu tattasya kāyaṃ pīyūṣabhakṣaṇāt

Translation

Von Durst gequält trank er jenes Wasser, in dem der Hase gegenwärtig war. Durch den Genuss des Nektars wurde der Leib des Hasen zu bloßen Knochen.

Word by Word

• तृषा-आर्तः: afflicted by thirst
• तृषा-आर्तः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृषा + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular; तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (तृषया आर्तः = afflicted by thirst)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय; disjunctive particle (or/indeed)

• अपिबत्: drank
• अपिबत्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Imperfect 3rd singular (he drank)

• तोयम्: water
• तोयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• शशकेन: with a hare
• शशकेन: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular (with a hare)

• समन्वितम्: combined (with)
• समन्वितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-अन्वि (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; agrees with तोयम् (endowed/combined)

• अस्थि-शेषम्: (as) mere bones / bone-remnant
• अस्थि-शेषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अस्थि + शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अस्थीनि शेषाणि यस्य/अस्थिशेषः) here 'reduced to bones'

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-निपात; particle (but/indeed)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular (that)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Genitive singular (of him/its)

• कायम्: body
• कायम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular (body)

• पीयूष-भक्षणात्: from eating nectar
• पीयूष-भक्षणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीयूष + भक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Ablative singular (from eating nectar); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पीयूषस्य भक्षणम्)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra jalāśaya (unnamed)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Soma, parched with thirst, drinks from the nectar-infused water; within/with the water is a hare; the hare’s body becomes skeletal from tasting nectar—an uncanny transformation under moonlight.

Characters & Entities

• Candra (implied)
• Śaśaka (hare)
• Pīyūṣa/Amṛta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with divine potency (amṛta) can radically transform embodied life, highlighting the extraordinary nature of sacred substances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The amṛta-associated jalāśaya within Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Drinking the sacred water is the implied act; no additional rite is specified.