Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

आहोक्ते मातरं कृष्णः सुभद्रां वै जनार्द्दनः । दधीचेस्तन यश्चायं भर्तुस्ते क्षेत्रसंभवः

Transliteration

āhokte mātaraṃ kṛṣṇaḥ subhadrāṃ vai janārddanaḥ | dadhīcestana yaścāyaṃ bhartuste kṣetrasaṃbhavaḥ

Translation

Da sprach Janārdana—Kṛṣṇa—zu seiner Mutter Subhadrā: „Dieses Kind ist der Sohn Dadhīcis und ist im heiligen Kṣetra entstanden, das mit deinem Gemahl verbunden ist.“

Word by Word

• āha: said
• āha: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ukte: when (it) was said
• ukte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त 'ukta'; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; लोके—'when (this) was said' (locative absolute)

• mātaram: mother
• mātaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• kṛṣṇaḥ: Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• subhadrām: Subhadrā
• subhadrām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: subhadrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), emphasis/assurance

• janārddanaḥ: Janārdana
• janārddanaḥ: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janārdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; apposition to kṛṣṇaḥ

• dadhīceḥ: of Dadhīci
• dadhīceḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhīci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• tanam: offspring/son
• tanam: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here likely 'offspring/son' (तान/तन) as manuscript form; treated as noun

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; relative pronoun

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhartuḥ: of (your) husband
• bhartuḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• te: your
• te: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; enclitic

• kṣetra-saṃbhavaḥ: born from the field (womb/lineage)
• kṣetra-saṃbhavaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: क्षेत्रसंभवः = क्षेत्रात्/क्षेत्रस्य सम्भवः (तत्पुरुष; source/connection); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Frame-audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana) speaks gently yet authoritatively to Subhadrā, revealing the child’s father as Dadhīci and linking the birth to the sacred kṣetra of her husband.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Janārdana
• Subhadrā
• Dadhīci
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord clarifies destiny and origin, showing that sacred places (kṣetras) can become stages for extraordinary births and dharmic unfolding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, implied through the emphasis on kṣetra-saṃbhava—manifestation within a sanctified sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a revelatory statement within the māhātmya narrative.