Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

ततः प्रभासे न्यवसन्यथोद्देशं यथागृहम् । प्रभूतभक्ष्यपेयास्ते सदारा यादवास्तदा

Transliteration

tataḥ prabhāse nyavasanyathoddeśaṃ yathāgṛham | prabhūtabhakṣyapeyāste sadārā yādavāstadā

Translation

Then, at Prabhāsa, the Yādavas lodged—each in his appointed place, as though in his own home—together with their wives, well supplied with abundant food and drink.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/देश-कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, काल/अनुक्रमवाचक

• prabhāse: in Prabhāsa
• prabhāse: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक

• nyavasan: they dwelt, they stayed
• nyavasan: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vas (वस्) उपसर्गः ni-
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; (पदपाठे बहुवचनार्थे)

• yathā-uddeśam: according to their respective places
• yathā-uddeśam: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + uddeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः: "according to (their) allotted places"

• yathā-gṛham: each to his own home
• yathā-gṛham: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत्: "according to each house/home"

• prabhūta-bhakṣya-peyāḥ: having abundant food and drink
• prabhūta-bhakṣya-peyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prabhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + peya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √pā + यत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; (बहुव्रीहिवत् अर्थे) तत्पुरुष-समास: "having abundant food and drink"; यādavāḥ इति विशेषणम्

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• sa-dārāḥ: with their wives
• sa-dārāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत्) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (सह-समास): "with wives"

• yādavāḥ: the Yādavas
• yādavāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yādava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• tadā: at that time
• tadā: Adhikarana (Temporal/देश-कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (temporal adverb): "at that time"

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual deduction within Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A coastal sacred encampment at Prabhāsa: Yādava clans arriving and settling into allotted quarters like a well-ordered pilgrimage town; wives present; heaps of provisions; distant sea and temple banners.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa
• Yādava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is portrayed as a sacred refuge where travellers settle with order and purpose; entering such a place invites a shift from worldly routine toward purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa (Prabhāsakṣetra), the principal holy site celebrated in this section of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated in this verse; it narrates arrival and settlement at the tīrtha, which typically precedes snāna, pūjā, and dāna in tīrtha-dharma.