Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

चापबाणधराः सर्वे यथा वै यमकिंकराः । पप्रच्छुश्च मृगान्भूप मानुषत्वमुपागतान्

Transliteration

cāpabāṇadharāḥ sarve yathā vai yamakiṃkarāḥ | papracchuśca mṛgānbhūpa mānuṣatvamupāgatān

Translation

Tous, portant arcs et flèches tels des serviteurs de Yama, interrogèrent—ô roi—ces cerfs parvenus à l’état humain.

Word by Word

• cāpabāṇadharāḥ: bow-and-arrow bearers
• cāpabāṇadharāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + bāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (चापं बाणं च धरन्ति)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• yathā: like
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative: like/as)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• yamakiṃkarāḥ: servants of Yama
• yamakiṃkarāḥ: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक) + kiṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (यमस्य किंकराः)

• papracchuḥ: asked
• papracchuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√prach (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• mṛgān: the deer
• mṛgān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• bhūpa: O king
• bhūpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• mānuṣatvam: humanity; human state
• mānuṣatvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• upāgatān: who had attained/come to
• upāgatān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upa√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (मृगान्)

Speaker

Pulastya (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Unnamed jalāśraya-tīrtha in Arbuda narrative

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhūpati/Nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hunters with bows and arrows, stern and dust-covered, arrive like Yama’s attendants; they confront newly human figures who were moments ago deer.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Hunters (Vyādhas)
• Deer-turned-humans

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly violence is contrasted with tīrtha-grace: the hunters’ dread imagery heightens the lake’s saving power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mānuṣa Hrada (context), where the transformation occurred.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it introduces inquiry that leads to the tīrtha’s praise.