Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

षोडशाब्दावधिः शापो भर्तुर्वो भविता ध्रुवम् । षोडशाब्दावधौ चैष दुर्दमो राक्षसाकृतिः

Transliteration

ṣoḍaśābdāvadhiḥ śāpo bharturvo bhavitā dhruvam | ṣoḍaśābdāvadhau caiṣa durdamo rākṣasākṛtiḥ

Translation

Pendant seize années, assurément, cette malédiction pèsera sur votre époux. Durant ces seize années, Durdama portera la forme d’un rākṣasa.

Word by Word

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याविशेषणम्; समासपूर्वपदत्वेन (षोडश-), अर्थतः ‘sixteen’

• ābda: year
• ābda: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; समासपूर्वपदत्वेन (आब्द-), अर्थतः ‘year’

• avadhiḥ: limit; term
• avadhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘limit/term’

• śāpaḥ: curse
• śāpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhartuḥ: of (your) husband
• bhartuḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘of the husband/lord’

• vaḥ: of you (plural)
• vaḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th) / चतुर्थी (4th), बहुवचन; अत्र षष्ठी—‘of you (pl.)’

• bhavitā: will be (will occur)
• bhavitā: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु) + tṛc (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भवितृ-शब्दः (कर्तरि तृच्); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भविष्यत्कालार्थे ‘will be’

• dhruvam: certainly
• dhruvam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चयार्थक-क्रियाविशेषणम्)

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याविशेषणम्; समासपूर्वपदत्वेन (षोडश-)

• ābda: year
• ābda: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; समासपूर्वपदत्वेन (आब्द-)

• avadhau: within the limit (term)
• avadhau: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘within the term/limit’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eṣaḥ: this (one)
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• durdamaḥ: hard to subdue
• durdamaḥ: Viśeṣya (Qualified noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur-dama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नञ्/दुरुपसर्गपूर्वक-तत्पुरुषः: dur + dama (‘hard to tame’)

• rākṣasa-ākṛtiḥ: (having) a demon-form
• rākṣasa-ākṛtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारयार्थः: ‘rākṣasasya ākṛtiḥ’ = ‘demonic form’

Speaker

Vasiṣṭha (deduced from continuation: “ityuktvā tu vasiṣṭhaḥ…”, Shloka 26)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: surāṅganāḥ / rāmāḥ (celestial maidens)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A prophetic pronouncement: celestial women listening as a seer declares a sixteen-year curse; in the background, a shadowy rakṣasa-form foreshadowed, with a subtle clock-like motif indicating fixed time.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Durdama
• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic consequences (śāpa) have a fixed term, and endurance through dharma is implied until the destined release.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Setukhaṇḍa framework (Setu/Rāmeśvaram sacred region) provides the sacred-geography backdrop, though this verse focuses on the curse’s duration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it states the time-bound nature of the curse.