Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तावद्भ्रमंति संसारे दुःखशोकभयाप्लुताः । न भवंति सुरज्येष्ठे यावद्भक्ताः पितामहे

Transliteration

tāvadbhramaṃti saṃsāre duḥkhaśokabhayāplutāḥ | na bhavaṃti surajyeṣṭhe yāvadbhaktāḥ pitāmahe

Translation

So lange wandern die Wesen im Saṃsāra umher, von Leid, Kummer und Furcht überflutet—so lange, wie sie nicht zu Bhaktas des Pitāmaha (Brahmā) werden, des Ältesten unter den Göttern.

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long
• तावत्: Temporal limit (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिवाचक अव्यय (correlative: ‘so long’)

• भ्रमन्ति: they wander
• भ्रमन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• संसारे: in worldly existence
• संसारे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• दुःखशोकभयाप्लुताः: overwhelmed by sorrow, grief, and fear
• दुःखशोकभयाप्लुताः: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + शोक (प्रातिपदिक) + भय (प्रातिपदिक) + आप्लुत (प्रातिपदिक; √प्लु/प्लव्)
• Form: समास: (दुःख-शोक-भय)-आप्लुताः; पूर्वपदत्रयस्य समाहारः, तत्पुरुषप्रायः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (to implied ‘जनाः’)

• न: not
• न: Negation (of verb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• भवन्ति: they become / they are
• भवन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• सुरज्येष्ठे: in/with the chief of the gods (Brahmā)
• सुरज्येष्ठे: Adhikarana (Sphere/Reference)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्येष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी: सुराणां ज्येष्ठः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; संबोधनार्थे अधिकरणवत् (in/with respect to)

• यावत्: until / as long as
• यावत्: Temporal limit (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधिवाचक/सम्बन्धसूचक अव्यय (correlative to तावत्: ‘until/so long as’)

• भक्ताः: devotees
• भक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक; √भज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘devotees’

• पितामहे: in/with Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• पितामहे: Adhikarana (Object of devotion / reference)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘in/with Pitāmaha (Brahmā)’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims in a vast cyclical landscape of saṃsāra—stormy waves labeled duḥkha-śoka-bhaya—turning toward a luminous, four-faced Pitāmaha seated on a lotus, indicating refuge through devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃsāra
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Sura-jyeṣṭha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion (bhakti) to the divine source of creation and dharma is presented as a remedy to the anxieties of saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Brahmā-linked tīrtha setting in Prabhāsa is implied; the teaching supports the practice of Brahmā-bhakti at that site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is devotional orientation—becoming a bhakta of Pitāmaha—rather than a specific external rite.