Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

अत्रांतरे ते मुनयो ह्यपश्यंतो हि डिंडिनम् । निरानंदं गताः सर्वे द्रष्टुं देवं पितामहम्

Transliteration

atrāṃtare te munayo hyapaśyaṃto hi ḍiṃḍinam | nirānaṃdaṃ gatāḥ sarve draṣṭuṃ devaṃ pitāmaham

Translation

Währenddessen, da jene Weisen Ḍiṁḍin nicht erblickten, wurden sie alle freudlos und gingen, um den Gott Pitāmaha (Brahmā) zu schauen.

Word by Word

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Deśa-avyaya (locative adverb/देश-अव्यय)

• antare: in the interval/meanwhile
• antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially ‘in the meantime’

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun/सर्वनाम), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• munayaḥ: sages
• munayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle/निपात), emphasis/causal nuance

• apaśyantaḥ: not seeing
• apaśyantaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Present active participle (शतृ-प्रत्यय), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• hi: indeed
• hi: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle/निपात), emphasis

• ḍiṃḍinam: Ḍiṃḍin (name/person)
• ḍiṃḍinam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ḍiṃḍin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• nirānandam: joyless, without happiness
• nirānandam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-ānanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adjective (विशेषण), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially with 'gatāḥ' (state)

• gatāḥ: went
• gatāḥ: Kriyā (verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Past active/resultative participle (क्त-प्रत्यय), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); finite sense ‘went’

• sarve: all
• sarve: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adjective (विशेषण), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• draṣṭum: to see
• draṣṭum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + tumun (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Infinitive (तुमुन्), purpose (प्रयोजन)

• devam: the god
• devam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• pitāmaham: the Grandfather (Brahmā)
• pitāmaham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); apposition to 'devam'

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta) describing the sages’ next step (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (with a Pitāmaha/Brahmā point in narrative)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahatmya audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sages, exhausted and crestfallen, stop their chase; their faces lose fire and turn dull with disappointment. They regroup and proceed toward Brahmā’s presence—depicted as a serene four-faced deity in a distant shrine or lotus-seat.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis/Munis
• Ḍiṁḍin
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When confusion arises, dharma recommends seeking higher guidance rather than acting from frustration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, portrayed as a place where sages’ actions ripple into consultations with cosmic deities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates a journey to Brahmā for counsel.