Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

मत्कृते हि द्विजश्रेष्ठ यातु ते मनसो ज्वरः । मार्कण्डेयवचः श्रुत्वा मृकण्डो मुनिसत्तमः । जगाम परमं हर्षं क्षणमेकं सुदुःसहम्

Transliteration

matkṛte hi dvijaśreṣṭha yātu te manaso jvaraḥ | mārkaṇḍeyavacaḥ śrutvā mṛkaṇḍo munisattamaḥ | jagāma paramaṃ harṣaṃ kṣaṇamekaṃ suduḥsaham

Translation

“For my sake, O best of the twice-born, let the fever of your mind depart.” Hearing Mārkaṇḍeya’s words, Mṛkaṇḍu—the foremost of sages—was seized by supreme joy, overwhelming and hard to bear even for a moment.

Word by Word

• matkṛte: for my sake
• matkṛte: Hetu/Prayojana (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mad-artham: ‘for my sake’)

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Emphasis/Reason (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थक निपात (indeed/for)

• dvijaśreṣṭha: O best of twice-born
• dvijaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (श्रेष्ठो द्विजः)

• yātu: let (it) go; may it depart
• yātu: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• te: your; of you
• te: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• manasaḥ: of the mind
• manasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• jvaraḥ: fever; anguish
• jvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mārkaṇḍeyavacaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya’s words
• mārkaṇḍeyavacaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक) + vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mārkaṇḍeyasya vacaḥ)

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• mṛkaṇḍaḥ: Mṛkaṇḍa
• mṛkaṇḍaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛkaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• munisattamaḥ: the best of sages
• munisattamaḥ: Karta (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (सत्तमो मुनिः)

• jagāma: attained; went to
• jagāma: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• paramam: supreme; great
• paramam: Karma-visheshaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुं, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying harṣam)

• harṣam: joy
• harṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: harṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• kṣaṇam: for a moment
• kṣaṇam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण (duration)

• ekam: one
• ekam: Visheshaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (qualifying kṣaṇam)

• suduḥsaham: very hard to endure
• suduḥsaham: Visheshaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + duḥsaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kṣaṇam/harṣam by context: ‘very hard to bear’)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (first sentence), then narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mṛkaṇḍu (within the scene)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya speaks gently to Mṛkaṇḍu; the father’s face shifts from anxious strain to overwhelming joy, tears welling as he steadies himself.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Mṛkaṇḍu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma brings inner relief: truthful sacred news dispels anxiety, and gratitude blossoms into transformative joy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly within the Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya narrative context rather than by explicit naming in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it focuses on consolation, faith, and the emotional fruit of divine assurance.