Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

कथं खिन्ना द्विजश्रेष्ठाः सदा शांतिपरायणाः । प्रसन्नवदना भूत्वा श्रूयतां वचनं मम

Transliteration

kathaṃ khinnā dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ sadā śāṃtiparāyaṇāḥ | prasannavadanā bhūtvā śrūyatāṃ vacanaṃ mama

Translation

Wie kommt es, ihr Besten der Zweimalgeborenen, die ihr stets dem Frieden zugetan seid, dass ihr so niedergeschlagen seid? Werdet heiteren Angesichts und hört meine Worte.

Word by Word

• katham: how
• katham: Question marker (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• khinnāḥ: distressed
• khinnāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: khinna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ: O best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (श्रेष्ठाः द्विजाः)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (always)

• śānti-parāyaṇāḥ: devoted to peace
• śānti-parāyaṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śānti (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शान्तौ परायणाः = devoted to peace)

• prasanna-vadanāḥ: with cheerful faces
• prasanna-vadanāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasanna (प्रातिपदिक) + vadana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (प्रसन्नं वदनं येषाम्)

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालिक क्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhū (धातु) → bhūtvā (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• śrūyatām: let (it) be heard
• śrūyatām: Kriya (Imperative/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-प्रायः), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (let it be heard)

• vacanam: word, statement
• vacanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• mama: my
• mama: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context; explicit at 33)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva addresses the sages directly, questioning their dejection; the munis’ faces soften from anger to calm as they prepare to listen.

Characters & Entities

• Dvija (Brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A calm, receptive mind is the doorway to dharmic instruction and higher insight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha region), within the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa’s Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse prepares the listeners to receive a dharmic directive.