Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

भूरिश्रवाश्छिन्नबाहुर्युद्धे प्रायोगतस्त्वया । व्याधेनेव नृशंसेन कथं वैरेण घातितः

Transliteration

bhūriśravāśchinnabāhuryuddhe prāyogatastvayā | vyādheneva nṛśaṃsena kathaṃ vaireṇa ghātitaḥ

Translation

Bhūriśravas, whose arm you had cut off in battle by an act unworthy of fair combat—how was he then slain out of enmity, like a cruel hunter striking down his prey?

Word by Word

• bhūriśravāḥ: Bhūriśravā
• bhūriśravāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūri-śravas (प्रातिपदिक; व्यक्तिनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (भूरि = बहु + श्रवाः = यशः)

• chinna-bāhuḥ: with severed arm
• chinna-bāhuḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chinna (कृदन्त; √chid) + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘छिन्नः बाहुः यस्य’ (arm-cut)

• yuddhe: in battle
• yuddhe: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• prāyogataḥ: by (your) act/through (your) use
• prāyogataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prāyogatas (अव्ययभावे तसिल्)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): ‘प्रयोगतः’ = by reason of/through (your) act/usage

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• vyādhena: by a hunter
• vyādhena: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyādha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• iva: as if/like
• iva: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय

• nṛśaṃsena: cruel
• nṛśaṃsena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nṛśaṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘वैरेण’/कर्तृ-भावे विशेषणम्

• katham: how?
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (how?)

• vaireṇa: by enmity/with hostility
• vaireṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• ghātitaḥ: was killed/caused to be slain
• ghātitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-विशेष्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghāt (णिच् causative of √han/√ghāt) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘घातितः’ = caused to be slain

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (context: Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative; likely a Yādava elder addressing Keśava/Kṛṣṇa or recounting blame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kṛtavarman accuses Sātyaki/Keśava’s side by recalling Bhūriśravas: the severed arm, the unfair strike, and the hunter-like slaying; listeners tense, some avert eyes in shame.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūriśravas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even great warriors are judged by dharma: victory gained through unfair means ripens into blame, remorse, and destructive consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (near Somanātha), where Purāṇic tradition situates the turning-point events leading to the Yādavas’ end.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is an ethical indictment concerning conduct in war.