Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

न प्रभासे मृतः कश्चिन्नरकं याति किल्बिषी । यावज्जीवं नरो यस्तु वसते कृतनिश्चयः

Transliteration

na prabhāse mṛtaḥ kaścinnarakaṃ yāti kilbiṣī | yāvajjīvaṃ naro yastu vasate kṛtaniścayaḥ

Translation

No sinner who dies in Prabhāsa goes to hell. And the man who dwells there for life, with firm resolve in that holy vow…

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Sentence particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

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

• mṛtaḥ: dead, having died
• mṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛ (धातु) + kta (क्त) → mṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying an implied ‘naraḥ’)

• kaścit: anyone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite)

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• yāti: goes
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• kilbiṣī: a sinner
• kilbiṣī: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kilbiṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘पापी’ इत्यर्थे (one possessing sin)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: कालपरिमाणवाचक-अव्यय (temporal limit: ‘as long as’)

• jīvam: for (one’s) lifetime
• jīvam: Adhikarana (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभावे ‘यावज्जीवम्’ = जीवनपर्यन्तम् (accusative of extent)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Relative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• tu: indeed, however
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोध/विशेषार्थक (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• vasate: dwells, resides
• vasate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• kṛta-niścayaḥ: of firm resolve
• kṛta-niścayaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; kṛ धातु + क्त) + niścaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृतः निश्चयः यस्य/कृतनिश्चयः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying naraḥ)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compassionate cosmic scene: Yama’s messengers halt at the boundary of Prabhāsa, unable to seize a sinner who dies there; above, a radiant Śiva presence blesses the departing soul; a devotee living there holds a vow-staff, steady and serene.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography matters in Purāṇic dharma: death or steadfast residence in a mahā-tīrtha is proclaimed spiritually transformative.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsa-tīrtha).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A life of committed residence or vowed association with Prabhāsa is praised (kṛta-niścaya), though no single rite is specified in this verse.