Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

पुनरेव हि सा स्नात्वा अविज्ञायात्मदुष्कृतम् । शापं दातुं समारब्धा गर्भकर्त्तरि दुःसहम्

Transliteration

punareva hi sā snātvā avijñāyātmaduṣkṛtam | śāpaṃ dātuṃ samārabdhā garbhakarttari duḥsaham

Translation

Dann badete sie erneut, ohne ihre eigene Verfehlung zu erkennen, und machte sich daran, über den Verursacher der Schwangerschaft einen unerträglich schrecklichen Fluch auszusprechen.

Word by Word

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Emphasis particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु √स्ना)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभावः; ‘having bathed’

• अविज्ञाय: without knowing
• अविज्ञाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa
• Type: Verb
• Root: a-vi-jñā (धातु √ज्ञा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभावः; with negation a-; ‘without knowing’

• आत्मदुष्कृतम्: her own misdeed
• आत्मदुष्कृतम्: Karma (Object of ‘not knowing’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman + duṣkṛta (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आत्मनः दुष्कृतम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शापम्: a curse
• शापम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दातुम्: to give
• दातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु √दा)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive); ‘to give’

• समारब्धा: having undertaken
• समारब्धा: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-rabh (धातु √रभ्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having undertaken/begun’

• गर्भकर्त्तरि: toward the begetter/causer of the pregnancy
• गर्भकर्त्तरि: Viṣaya/Adhikaraṇa (Target/concern)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha + kartṛ (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘one who caused the pregnancy’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; अधिकरणे/विषये (with respect to)

• दुःसहम्: unbearable
• दुःसहम्: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥsaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies शापम्)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa snāna-tīrtha (general)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a coastal ghat, the woman emerges from bathing, wet hair and garments, eyes blazing with resolve; she raises a hand as if to pronounce a curse, while the sacred waters glimmer behind her.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purification without inner discernment can still lead to harmful speech; dharma requires both purity and right understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where bathing and sacred settings frame moral turning-points in the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) is referenced as an act performed before a major moral action, reflecting Purāṇic emphasis on ritual purity.