Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

तं निहत्य तु रामेण लक्ष्मणानुगतेन वै । अयोध्यायां समानीता सौमित्रिजयलक्षिका

Transliteration

taṃ nihatya tu rāmeṇa lakṣmaṇānugatena vai | ayodhyāyāṃ samānītā saumitrijayalakṣikā

Translation

After Rāma—accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa—had slain him, it was brought to Ayodhyā as a visible emblem of Saumitrī’s (Lakṣmaṇa’s) victory.

Word by Word

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-रूपम्

• nihatya: having killed
• nihatya: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Gerundial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√han (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive) ‘having slain’

• tu: then/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• rāmeṇa: by Rāma
• rāmeṇa: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• lakṣmaṇa-anugatena: accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa
• lakṣmaṇa-anugatena: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lakṣmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + anugata (प्रातिपदिक; √gam क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः: ‘लक्ष्मणेन अनुगतः’); पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying rāmeṇa)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• ayodhyāyām: in Ayodhyā
• ayodhyāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayodhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• samānītā: was brought
• samānītā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√nī (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कर्मणि-भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘was brought’

• saumitri-jaya-lakṣikā: the emblem/sign of Saumitri’s victory
• saumitri-jaya-lakṣikā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saumitri (प्रातिपदिक) + jaya (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सम्बन्धार्थः: ‘सौमित्रेः जयस्य लक्षिका/लक्षणा’ = ‘mark/sign of Saumitri’s victory’); स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context of the adhyāya dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā (as narrative station)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāma, with Lakṣmaṇa at his side, stands after slaying the foe; attendants carry the recovered sacred image, later shown entering Ayodhyā as a trophy-sign of Saumitrī’s victory.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Lakṣmaṇa (Saumitrī)
• Ayodhyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma’s victory is remembered not only through conquest but through re-establishing sacred order and safeguarding holy objects.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger narrative serves Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s Māhātmya, even while mentioning Ayodhyā in the image’s journey.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse continues the transmission-history of the sacred image.