Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

उत्पथाश्च महानद्यो ग्रहा उन्मार्गसंस्थिताः । त्रैलोक्यं व्याकुलीभूतं यावत्प्राप्नोति संक्षयम्

Transliteration

utpathāśca mahānadyo grahā unmārgasaṃsthitāḥ | trailokyaṃ vyākulībhūtaṃ yāvatprāpnoti saṃkṣayam

Translation

Great rivers flowed off their proper courses, and the planets moved from their ordained paths. The three worlds were thrown into distress, as though approaching ruin.

Word by Word

• उत्पथाः: wrong paths, aberrant courses
• उत्पथाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• महानद्यः: great rivers
• महानद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ग्रहाः: planets/seizers (grahas)
• ग्रहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• उन्मार्गसंस्थिताः: situated on a wrong course
• उन्मार्गसंस्थिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उन्मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थित (कृदन्त; √स्था धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past participle)

• त्रैलोक्यम्: the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• व्याकुलीभूतम्: become agitated/disturbed
• व्याकुलीभूतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याकुलीभूत (कृदन्त; √भू धातु, क्त; व्याकुली-भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle)

• यावत्: until
• यावत्: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधि/पर्यन्त-बोधक अव्यय (until/as long as)

• प्राप्नोति: reaches, attains
• प्राप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपद

• संक्षयम्: destruction, end
• संक्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced: continuing narration to Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rivers surge out of their beds and carve new, chaotic channels; above, the grahas drift from their tracks, creating a sky of disarray; the three worlds appear shaken, with beings in panic.

Characters & Entities

• Great rivers
• Grahāḥ (planets)
• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is harmony—when order is disturbed, even nature and the heavens reflect the imbalance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra indirectly, through a māhātmya narrative where events linked to a sage affect the cosmos.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is cosmological description, not a ritual directive.