Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

पालयामास संहृष्टो ह्यजापालस्ततोऽभवत् । तस्मिन्काले बभूवाथ रावणो राक्षसेश्वरः

Transliteration

pālayāmāsa saṃhṛṣṭo hyajāpālastato'bhavat | tasminkāle babhūvātha rāvaṇo rākṣaseśvaraḥ

Translation

Frohgemut herrschte er über das Reich und wurde so als Ajāpāla, sein Beschützer, gefestigt. In eben jener Zeit stieg auch Rāvaṇa empor, der Herr der Rākṣasas.

Word by Word

• पालयामास: protected/ruled
• पालयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पालय् (पाल् causative; धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Periphrastic Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• संहृष्टः: delighted
• संहृष्टः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-हृष् (धातु) + संहृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (अजापालः)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/Reason/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (हेतौ/निश्चये) particle

• अजापालः: protector of goats; goatherd
• अजापालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजा-पाल (प्रातिपदिक; अजा + पाल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/अनन्तरम्) adverb

• अभवत्: became
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• काले: time
• काले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• बभूव: came to be/was
• बभूव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक/प्रस्तावक) discourse particle

• रावणः: Rāvaṇa
• रावणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रावण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• राक्षसेश्वरः: lord of the rākṣasas
• राक्षसेश्वरः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; राक्षस + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Deductive (Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narration; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa continuing the Purāṇic account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ajāpāla enthroned as a joyful protector-king, with symbols of orderly rule; in the background, a shadowed figure of Rāvaṇa’s emergence hints at a looming epoch of upheaval.

Characters & Entities

• Ajāpāla
• Rāvaṇa
• Rākṣasas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames worldly sovereignty as time-bound and shifting—rulership rises and falls, while dharma remains the measure of a protector.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (the sacred Prabhāsa region), within the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa’s Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative context establishing historical actors within the Māhātmya.