Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

एके दिगंबरा देवि त्यक्तयज्ञोपवीतिनः । विकचाः केऽपि दृश्यंते त्वन्ये रुधिरविप्लवाः

Transliteration

eke digaṃbarā devi tyaktayajñopavītinaḥ | vikacāḥ ke'pi dṛśyaṃte tvanye rudhiraviplavāḥ

Translation

O Goddess, some were seen naked, having cast off the sacred thread; some appeared with dishevelled hair, while others were smeared and splashed with blood—such was the tumult there.

Word by Word

• एके: some
• एके: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-शब्दः (some)

• दिगंबराः: naked (sky-clad)
• दिगंबराः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिक् + अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (‘दिग् एव अम्बरं येषाम्’ = sky-clad)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• त्यक्तयज्ञोपवीतिनः: having discarded the sacred thread
• त्यक्तयज्ञोपवीतिनः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यक्त (त्यज् धातु; क्त) + यज्ञोपवीतिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; तत्पुरुषः (‘यज्ञोपवीतं त्यक्तं येषाम्’/‘त्यक्तं यज्ञोपवीतं येषाम्’)

• विकचाः: with dishevelled/unbound hair
• विकचाः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (lit. with loosened hair/unbound)

• के: some
• के: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; अनिश्चितार्थे (some/any)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ (also/even)

• दृश्यन्ते: are seen/appear
• दृश्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive sense: are seen)

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Contrast/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/भेद (but/and then)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• रुधिरविप्लवाः: smeared with blood / in a bloody state
• रुधिरविप्लवाः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुधिर + विप्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘रुधिरेण विप्लवः’/‘रुधिरस्य विप्लवः’ = covered with blood/with bloodshed)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing Devī within the māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In the melee, some brāhmaṇas appear naked, some with sacred threads discarded, hair loose and wild; others are smeared with blood, creating a disturbing tableau of fallen decorum.

Characters & Entities

• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharma is abandoned, even a sacred setting can become a scene of chaos and degradation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsapattana/Somnath region) within the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it depicts the disorder that precedes the site’s māhātmya teaching.