Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

तमतिक्रांतमर्यादं प्रजापीडनतत्परम् । ऊचुर्महर्षयः क्रुद्धा मरीचिप्रमुखास्तदा

Transliteration

tamatikrāṃtamaryādaṃ prajāpīḍanatatparam | ūcurmaharṣayaḥ kruddhā marīcipramukhāstadā

Translation

Da sprachen die großen Rishis—erzürnt—unter Führung Marīcis zu ihm, der jede Schranke überschritten hatte und darauf aus war, das Volk zu quälen.

Word by Word

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

• atikrānta-maryādam: who has overstepped limits
• atikrānta-maryādam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati-krānta (अतिक्रान्त; ati-√kram ‘to transgress’ + क्त) + maryādā (मर्यादा)
• Form: समास: उपपद/तत्पुरुष (‘one who has transgressed the boundary’); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘tam’)

• prajā-pīḍana-tatparam: intent on oppressing the people
• prajā-pīḍana-tatparam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prajā (प्रजा) + pīḍana (पीडन) + tatpara (तत्पर)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (‘intent on tormenting the subjects’); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् लकार (perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• maharṣayaḥ: great sages
• maharṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maharṣi (महर्षि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (nominative/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• kruddhāḥ: angry
• kruddhāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kruddha (क्रुद्ध; √krudh ‘to be angry’ + क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘maharṣayaḥ’)

• marīci-pramukhāḥ: with Marīci at their head
• marīci-pramukhāḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: marīci (मरीचि) + pramukha (प्रमुख)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (‘having Marīci as foremost’); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण-रूपेण (appositive to ‘maharṣayaḥ’)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Time adjunct/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (तदा अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/śaunaka-led assembly (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A council of mahārṣis led by Marīci, faces stern with righteous anger, confronts King Vena who has crossed all bounds; the atmosphere is charged—dharma versus tyranny—set against a sacred landscape suggestive of Prabhāsa.

Characters & Entities

• Marīci
• Maharṣayaḥ
• Vena

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes restraint; when power becomes oppressive and boundary-less, the wise intervene to restore order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra is the textual frame; this verse emphasizes dharma-protection through ṛṣi guidance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the sages’ response to adharma.