Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

स शप्तः शंभुना पूर्वं दक्षः प्राचेतसो नृपः । विनिंद्य पूर्ववैरेण गंगाद्वारेऽयजद्धरिम्

Transliteration

sa śaptaḥ śaṃbhunā pūrvaṃ dakṣaḥ prācetaso nṛpaḥ | viniṃdya pūrvavaireṇa gaṃgādvāre'yajaddharim

Translation

Jener König Dakṣa, Sohn des Prācetas, war zuvor von Śambhu verflucht worden. Von alter Feindschaft getrieben, schmähte er Ihn und vollzog am Gaṅgādvāra ein Opfer für Hari.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• शप्तः: cursed
• शप्तः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शप् (धातु) → शप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शंभुना: by Śambhu (Śiva)
• शंभुना: Karana/Agent-in-passive (करण/कर्तृ-तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• पूर्वम्: formerly, earlier
• पूर्वम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• दक्षः: Dakṣa
• दक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्राचेतसः: son/descendant of Pracetas
• प्राचेतसः: Viśeṣaṇa (adjectival to दक्षः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राचेतस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (epithet)

• नृपः: king
• नृपः: Karta (appositive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अप्पोज़िशन (apposition)

• विनिन्द्य: having reviled
• विनिन्द्य: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (converb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-निन्द् (धातु) → विनिन्द्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• पूर्ववैरेण: by/with former enmity
• पूर्ववैरेण: Hetu/Instrument (cause/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + वैर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पूर्वस्य वैरम्)

• गंगाद्वारे: at Gaṅgā’s gate (Gaṅgādvāra)
• गंगाद्वारे: Adhikaraṇa (location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा + द्वार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गङ्गायाः द्वारम्)

• अयजत्: he worshipped/sacrificed to
• अयजत्: Kriyā (main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: यज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• हरिम्: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिम्: Karman (object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

Speaker

Sārasvata (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgādvāra

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor in the Vastrāpatha-māhātmya frame (not specified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Gaṅgādvāra on the Gaṅgā’s banks, Dakṣa prepares a grand sacrifice to Hari while harboring hostility toward Śambhu; ominous undertone of a prior curse; priests, altars, and river ghats in view.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Gaṅgādvāra (Haridvāra)
• Prācetas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual without humility becomes entangled in ego and hostility; dharma warns against reviling the divine out of enmity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgādvāra (Haridvāra) is explicitly named as the place where the yajña to Hari was performed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yajña (sacrificial worship) to Hari is mentioned, though framed within a cautionary narrative about motive.