Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

भगवन्डिंडि रूपेण कश्चिदस्ति तपोधनः । विध्वंसनाय दाराणां प्रविष्टः किल भिक्षितुम्

Transliteration

bhagavanḍiṃḍi rūpeṇa kaścidasti tapodhanaḥ | vidhvaṃsanāya dārāṇāṃ praviṣṭaḥ kila bhikṣitum

Translation

Es gibt einen heiligen Asketen, reich an Tapas; man sagt, er habe die Gestalt namens Ḍiṃḍi angenommen und sei (in unsere Wohnstatt) eingetreten, um Almosen zu erbitten, in der Absicht, unsere Frauen ins Verderben zu stürzen.

Word by Word

• bhagavan: O Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• ḍiṃḍi: in (the guise of) Ḍiṃḍi
• ḍiṃḍi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ḍiṃḍi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); with 'rūpeṇa' = ‘in the form of ḍiṃḍi’

• rūpeṇa: by/with a form; in the form
• rūpeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• kaścit: someone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (indefinite pronoun/सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• asti: is/exists
• asti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• tapodhanaḥ: one whose wealth is austerity; ascetic
• tapodhanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): tapaso dhanaḥ; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• vidhvaṃsanāya: for the destruction
• vidhvaṃsanāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi-dhvaṃsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन); purpose

• dārāṇām: of (our) wives
• dārāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• praviṣṭaḥ: entered
• praviṣṭaḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-viś (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Past participle (क्त-प्रत्यय), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); finite sense ‘entered’

• kila: it is said/indeed
• kila: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kila (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle/निपात), hearsay/emphasis

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

Speaker

Unspecified (context suggests afflicted beings/attendants narrating to Brahmā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fierce-looking mendicant in the ‘Ḍiṃḍi’ guise approaches the sages’ dwelling to beg; sages whisper anxiously, glancing toward their wives’ quarters, suspicion and fear rising.

Characters & Entities

• Ḍiṃḍi (form)
• tapasvin (ascetic)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even seemingly pious appearances can be used to test dharma; discernment and restraint are essential in sacred spaces.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented as a powerful sacred landscape where divine tests and consequences unfold.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse frames a narrative event (a disguised entry for alms) rather than a rite.