Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

स चापि भगवाच्छंभुस्तासां सरति प्राङ्मुखः । भ्रांतस्तत्राश्रमे तेषां दारान्कामेन पीडयन्

Transliteration

sa cāpi bhagavācchaṃbhustāsāṃ sarati prāṅmukhaḥ | bhrāṃtastatrāśrame teṣāṃ dārānkāmena pīḍayan

Translation

Et ce même Seigneur Śambhu se mouvait devant eux, tourné vers l’orient. Errant dans cet ermitage, il éveilla la puissance du kāma chez leurs épouses, les troublant par le désir.

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also)

• bhagavān: the Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• śambhuḥ: Śambhu
• śambhuḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śambhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tāsām: of those (women)
• tāsām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), बहुवचन

• sarati: moves/wanders
• sarati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• prāṅmukhaḥ: facing east/forward
• prāṅmukhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāṅ + mukha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: 'whose face is turned east/forward'

• bhrāntaḥ: wandering
• bhrāntaḥ: Karta (Descriptive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhrānta (प्रातिपदिक; √bhram धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (locative adverb: 'there')

• āśrame: in the hermitage
• āśrame: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• teṣām: of them (sages)
• teṣām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• dārān: wives
• dārān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāra (प्रातिपदिक; प्रायः बहुवचनान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• kāmena: by desire/lust
• kāmena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause/करण-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• pīḍayan: tormenting/afflicting
• pīḍayan: Kriyā (Concurrent action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pīḍ (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle/शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (Arbudācala)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājarṣi (royal seer)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a forest hermitage on Arbuda, Śambhu, disguised and facing east, moves among the sages’ dwellings; the wives appear inwardly stirred, while the ascetics look on in confusion.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Vālakhilya-āśrama (implied)
• Kāma (as force)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narration distinguishes the Lord’s transcendence from the stirring of desire in beings, using story to teach discernment and self-control.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate sacred setting is the Vālakhilya-āśrama, treated as a holy landscape within the Arbuda Khaṇḍa frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.