Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

सवित्रा स्पृष्टमात्रं सत्तत्प्राशित्रं दुरासदम् । तस्य पाणी प्रचिच्छेद पश्यतां सर्वऋत्विजाम्

Transliteration

savitrā spṛṣṭamātraṃ sattatprāśitraṃ durāsadam | tasya pāṇī praciccheda paśyatāṃ sarvaṛtvijām

Translation

Ce prāśitra, difficile d’accès, à peine effleuré par Savitṛ, lui trancha les mains, sous les yeux de tous les prêtres.

Word by Word

• सवित्रा: by Savitṛ
• सवित्रा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सवितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• स्पृष्ट-मात्रम्: merely touched
• स्पृष्ट-मात्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्पृश् (धातु) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त: स्पृष्ट (touched) + मात्र (only/merely) = ‘only touched’

• सत्: indeed/that very
• सत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ/सत्-प्रत्ययान्त (present participial stem ‘sat’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘being/that which is’ (emphatic)

• तत्-प्राशित्रम्: that very prāśitra portion
• तत्-प्राशित्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + प्राशित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: तत् एव प्राशित्रम्

• दुरासदम्: hard to approach/irresistible
• दुरासदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + आसद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नञ्-समकक्ष/उपसर्गयुक्त: दुर्+आसद = ‘hard to approach/attain’

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन, पुं/नपुंसक; ‘of him/of that’

• पाणी: (his) two hands
• पाणी: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), द्विवचन

• प्रचिच्छेद: cut off
• प्रचिच्छेद: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: प्र-; धातु: छिद्

• पश्यताम्: while (they) were watching
• पश्यताम्: Adhikarana (Circumstance/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश्यत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दृश्)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त ‘पश्यत्’ (seeing) का षष्ठी बहुवचन; जनन-सम्बन्धे ‘while (they) were seeing’

• सर्व-ऋत्विजाम्: of all the priests
• सर्व-ऋत्विजाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + ऋत्विज् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: सर्वे ऋत्विजः

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in third-person narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: As Savitṛ barely touches the prāśitra, a sudden flare of radiance erupts; his hands are severed, and the priests recoil in shock, frozen mid-ritual.

Characters & Entities

• Savitṛ
• Prāśitra
• Ṛtvij

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Consecrated ritual power (tejas) is not ordinary; it demands right handling, humility, and proper ritual authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setukhaṇḍa’s sacred setting frames the event, but the verse highlights the awe-inspiring potency arising within the yajña.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription is given; the verse illustrates the extraordinary ‘tejas’ associated with designated yajña portions like prāśitra.