Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

आत्मीयं पितरं मुक्त्वा कमन्यं स्तौषि बालक

Transliteration

ātmīyaṃ pitaraṃ muktvā kamanyaṃ stauṣi bālaka

Translation

Nachdem du deinen eigenen Vater verlassen hast, Kind, wen sonst preist du?

Word by Word

• ātmīyaṃ: one's own
• ātmīyaṃ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātmīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पितरम्)

• pitaraṃ: father
• pitaraṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitar (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• muktvā: having abandoned/left
• muktvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √muc (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Absolutive/Gerund)

• kam: whom
• kam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• anyaṃ: another
• anyaṃ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कम्)

• stauṣi: you praise
• stauṣi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √stu (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bālaka: O boy
• bālaka: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Hiraṇyakaśipu

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Prahlāda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up confrontation: Hiraṇyakaśipu questions Prahlāda—‘leaving your father, whom do you praise?’ Prahlāda’s face shows compassion, not defiance; the palace setting feels heavy with moral tension.

Characters & Entities

• Hiraṇyakaśipu
• Prahlāda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly authority demands loyalty, but dharma teaches higher allegiance to the Divine when the two conflict.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This dialogue occurs within the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya framework of Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a confrontational question about the object of praise (stuti).