Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

ततस्तं पतितं दृष्ट्वा विस्मयं स तलो गतः । गतप्राणं तदा ज्ञात्वा हर्षान्नृत्यमथाकरोत्

Transliteration

tatastaṃ patitaṃ dṛṣṭvā vismayaṃ sa talo gataḥ | gataprāṇaṃ tadā jñātvā harṣānnṛtyamathākarot

Translation

Daraufhin geriet Tala, als er ihn gefallen sah, in Staunen; und als er erkannte, dass er leblos war, begann er vor Freude zu tanzen.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: ततः-अव्यय (ablative adverb: “then/from that”)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• पतितम्: fallen
• पतितम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP) ‘पतित’, पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (तम्)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) “having seen”

• विस्मयम्: astonishment
• विस्मयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• तलः: Tala
• तलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (सः तलः) apposition

• गतः: went / became
• गतः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP used adjectivally) ‘गत’, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “became/entered (a state)”

• गतप्राणम्: lifeless (whose breath had gone)
• गतप्राणम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत + प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (“गताः प्राणाः यस्य” in sense; here as adjective), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (तम्)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: “then”)

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) “having known/realized”

• हर्षात्: from joy / out of joy
• हर्षात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; कारणार्थे (ablative of cause)

• नृत्यम्: dance
• नृत्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (sequence particle: “then/thereupon”)

• अकरोत्: did / performed
• अकरोत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: कृ

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya discourse; exact speaker not present in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Female addressee (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Talo stands over the fallen Mahendra, eyes widened in astonishment; realizing death, he breaks into a fierce, exultant dance, dust swirling around his stamping feet.

Characters & Entities

• Talo

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked pride and delight in violence becomes the seed of wider cosmic disorder, prompting divine recourse to dharma-restoring powers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), the sacred region whose māhātmya frames the narrative and its theological resolution.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is stated in this verse.