Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

संस्कृत्य भोजयेत्तत्र विप्रान्स च जिघांसति । समा ह्वयति तं वाचा गतं चैव ततः क्षयम्

Transliteration

saṃskṛtya bhojayettatra viprānsa ca jighāṃsati | samā hvayati taṃ vācā gataṃ caiva tataḥ kṣayam

Translation

There he would prepare the offering and feed the Brahmins, yet he intended to kill them. Then he would call him back with words, and the victim would go to destruction.

Word by Word

• संस्कृत्य: having prepared (it)
• संस्कृत्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त; ‘having prepared/seasoned (food)’

• भोजयेत्: would feed
• भोजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (धातु) [णिच्]
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative) ‘cause to eat/feed’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• विप्रान्: Brahmins
• विप्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• स: he
• स: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• जिघांसति: desires to kill
• जिघांसति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हन् (धातु) [सन्]
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; सन्नन्त-रूपम् (desiderative) ‘wishes to kill’

• समाः: years
• समाः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘समाः’ = years

• ह्वयति: calls
• ह्वयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ह्वे/√ह्वा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘calls/invokes’

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वाचा: by (his) voice; with words
• वाचा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; करणम्

• गतम्: gone (to)
• गतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘gone/reached’ (tam understood)

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

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• ततः: then; from there
• ततः: Apadana/Sequence (Source/Then)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अपादानार्थक-अव्यय (from there/then)

• क्षयम्: destruction; death
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A deceptive feast scene: brāhmaṇas seated to eat; a ram (Vātāpi) as the cooked offering motif implied; Ilvala/Vātāpi’s accomplice posture sinister; the calling-back spell-like utterance hangs in the air as a dark ripple.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas (Vipras)
• Vātāpi
• Ilvala (implied by the calling back motif)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual acts without dharma become hypocrisy; feeding the righteous while plotting harm is portrayed as grave adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The actions occur within Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s narrative frame, reinforcing the tīrtha’s role as the stage where dharma and adharma are exposed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feeding brāhmaṇas (vipra-bhojana) appears as an act, but here it is misused; the text implicitly upholds the sanctity of true, dharmic hospitality.