Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

पूर्वमेव हतं तेन कृष्णेन हृदयादिकम् । पाययित्वाऽधरविषं योषिद्व्रातं पलायितः

Transliteration

pūrvameva hataṃ tena kṛṣṇena hṛdayādikam | pāyayitvā'dharaviṣaṃ yoṣidvrātaṃ palāyitaḥ

Translation

By him—Kṛṣṇa—our very hearts and all within were already slain. Having made the multitude of women drink the poison of his lips, he has fled away.

Word by Word

• पूर्वम्: formerly/before
• पूर्वम्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly/before)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis)

• हतम्: destroyed
• हतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘killed/destroyed’

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• कृष्णेन: by Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णेन: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; ‘तेन’ इत्यस्य विशेषण/समानााधिकरण

• हृदयादिकम्: the heart and the like (inner being)
• हृदयादिकम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृदय-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—हृदयम् आदि यस्य/हृदयादि (आदि-समासः; तत्पुरुषप्राय)

• पाययित्वा: having made (them) drink
• पाययित्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु, causative/णिच्: पायय) + क्त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), णिजन्त (causative) ‘having made (someone) drink’

• अधरविषम्: the poison of (his) lips
• अधरविषम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधर- विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—अधरस्य विषम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• योषिद्व्रातम्: the multitude of women
• योषिद्व्रातम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योषित्-व्रात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—योषितां व्रातः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• पलायितः: fled away
• पलायितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पलाय् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘fled’

Speaker

Gopīs (lamenting women of Vraja; collective voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (with Vraja-smṛti as inner tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Uddhava (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gopīs speak in wounded love: Kṛṣṇa has already ‘slain’ their hearts; the sweetness of his lips is described as poison; the messenger stands as silent witness.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense viraha-bhakti: worldly abandonment becomes a crucible that deepens devotion and inner remembrance of Bhagavān.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, presented in the Dvārakā-māhātmya as Kṛṣṇa’s sacred city and a locus of remembrance and pilgrimage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the verse expresses devotional separation (viraha) rather than snāna, dāna, or japa.