Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

पुण्याहे वाच्यमाने च पठत्सु च महात्मसु । अभिधावंति श्रूयंते न चादृश्यत कश्चन

Transliteration

puṇyāhe vācyamāne ca paṭhatsu ca mahātmasu | abhidhāvaṃti śrūyaṃte na cādṛśyata kaścana

Translation

Even as auspicious benedictions were proclaimed and great souls recited the sacred texts, the sound of people running about was heard—yet no one at all could be seen.

Word by Word

• puṇyāhe: at the auspicious proclamation/rite (puṇyāha)
• puṇyāhe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇyāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः puṇya + āha (तत्पुरुष); अधिकरण

• vācyamāne: while being recited/uttered
• vācyamāne: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vācyamāna (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त, कर्मणि वर्तमानकाले from √vac)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘puṇyāhe’)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• paṭhatsu: while (they) were reading/reciting
• paṭhatsu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṭhat (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त, शतृ-प्रत्यय from √paṭh)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• mahātmasu: among the great-souled (sages)
• mahātmasu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; समासः mahā + ātman (कर्मधारय); अधिकरण

• abhidhāvanti: run towards/approach
• abhidhāvanti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhāv (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; उपसर्गः abhi-

• śrūyante: are heard
• śrūyante: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वय (conjunction)

• adṛśyata: was seen/appeared
• adṛśyata: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/लुङ्), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• kaścana: anyone (no one)
• kaścana: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścana (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता (with negation ‘na’ = ‘no one’)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; likely Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual assembly: priests recite, ‘puṇyāha’ is proclaimed; yet the sound of hurried footsteps and running swirls through the space though no bodies are visible—only fluttering cloth, disturbed dust, and startled faces.

Characters & Entities

• Puṇyāha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual words alone are not a shield when destiny ripens; inner purity and dharmic life must accompany sacred recitation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where even rites occur amid extraordinary portents, underscoring the gravity of the sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Puṇyāha (auspicious benediction/proclamation) and scriptural recitation are referenced as ongoing practices.