Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

अतपत्स तपो रौद्रं शीर्णपर्णांबुभक्षकः । यतः समभवद्दीप्त्या सर्वाह्लादकरः शशी

Transliteration

atapatsa tapo raudraṃ śīrṇaparṇāṃbubhakṣakaḥ | yataḥ samabhavaddīptyā sarvāhlādakaraḥ śaśī

Translation

Er übte eine furchtbare Askese, lebte von herabgefallenen Blättern und Wasser; dadurch wurde der Mond wieder strahlend und erfreute alle Wesen.

Word by Word

• अतपत्: performed austerity
• अतपत्: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: तप् (‘to do austerity/heat’)

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• रौद्रम्: fierce
• रौद्रम्: विशेषण (Qualifier of तपः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शीर्णपर्णाम्बुभक्षकः: one who subsisted on withered leaves and water
• शीर्णपर्णाम्बुभक्षकः: कर्ता (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीर्ण + पर्ण + अम्बु + भक्षक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समास: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (‘शीर्णपर्णम् अम्बु च भक्ष्यं यस्य/यः भक्षयति’)

• यतः: whereupon/from which
• यतः: हेतु/सम्बन्ध (Causal/relative link)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb: ‘from which/whereupon/because’)

• समभवत्: became/arose
• समभवत्: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: सम् + अभि; (‘came to be’)

• दीप्त्या: by (his) radiance
• दीप्त्या: करण (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• सर्वाह्लादकरः: delighting all
• सर्वाह्लादकरः: विशेषण (Qualifier of शशी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + आह्लाद + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समास: तत्पुरुष (‘सर्वेषाम् आह्लादं करोति’)

• शशी: the moon
• शशी: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrative context (speaker not explicit in this verse; within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (as tapas-siddhi kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Candra, now an ascetic, performs fierce Rudra-like austerity, subsisting on fallen leaves and water; gradually his halo brightens until he shines fully again, bathing the world in cool delight.

Characters & Entities

• Śaśī/Candra
• Tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas joined to sacred place and devotion yields purification and renewal, turning suffering into universal benefit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative context, where Candra’s austerities bear fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity), specifically subsisting on fallen leaves and water, alongside the implied continued worship.