Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

एवं कृत्वा तु सा रात्रि नीयते निद्रया विना । वेदघोषैः सुपुण्यैस्तु भारताख्यानवाचनैः

Transliteration

evaṃ kṛtvā tu sā rātri nīyate nidrayā vinā | vedaghoṣaiḥ supuṇyaistu bhāratākhyānavācanaiḥ

Translation

So getan, vergeht jene Nacht ohne Schlaf, erfüllt von höchst verdienstvollen vedischen Rezitationen und der Lesung der Bhārata-Erzählungen.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘thus/in this manner’

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) ‘having done’

• तु: indeed; and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• रात्रिम्: the night
• रात्रिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• नीयते: is spent; is passed
• नीयते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘is led/spent’

• निद्रया: by sleep
• निद्रया: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: उपपद-अव्यय (preposition-like indeclinable) ‘without’; योगे तृतीया

• वेदघोषैः: with Vedic chants
• वेदघोषैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद + घोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘sounds/recitations of the Veda’

• सुपुण्यैः: very meritorious
• सुपुण्यैः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying वेदघोषैः/…वाचनैः)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• भारताख्यानवाचनैः: with recitations of the Bhārata story
• भारताख्यानवाचनैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत + आख्यान + वाचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘recitations of the Bhārata narrative’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lamp-lit night assembly in a sacred precinct: reciters chant Veda; another reads Bhārata narratives; pilgrims sit attentive, some with prayer beads, the sky dark with stars, temple lamps flickering.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Bhārata (Mahābhārata)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wakeful devotion (jāgaraṇa) supported by sacred sound—Veda and Itihāsa—purifies the mind and deepens pilgrimage merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The practice is described within the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra māhātmya of Prabhāsa, implying the vigil is kept in that sacred locale.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Spend the night without sleep in devotional vigil, with Vedic chanting and recitation/reading of Bhārata narratives.