Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

एवं विलपतस्तस्य बहुधा नृपसत्तम । बालश्चाभ्यागतस्तत्र यत्र देशे पुरा स्थितः

Transliteration

evaṃ vilapatastasya bahudhā nṛpasattama | bālaścābhyāgatastatra yatra deśe purā sthitaḥ

Translation

Tandis qu’il se lamentait de mille façons, ô le meilleur des rois, l’enfant revint là-bas — au lieu même où il avait jadis demeuré.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb: ‘thus’)

• विलपतस्: of (him) lamenting
• विलपतस्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-lap (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान-कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘of (him) lamenting’

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• बहुधा: in many ways
• बहुधा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahudhā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; बहुप्रकारे (in many ways)

• नृपसत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नृपाणां सत्तमः)

• बालः: the boy
• बालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• अभ्यागतः: arrived
• अभ्यागतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि: ‘has arrived’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘there’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• देशे: in the place
• देशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: ‘formerly’)

• स्थितः: was staying
• स्थितः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘was staying/stood’

Speaker

Narrator (addressing a king; frame-story listener)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpasattama)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grieving noble laments; in the same landscape the boy reappears at the earlier dwelling-place, signaling the turning point from sorrow to reunion.

Characters & Entities

• King (listener, implied)
• the boy (bālaka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Despair is not final in Purāṇic storytelling; divine arrangements often turn lament into reunion and renewed dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points generally to the Arbuda region setting, without naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the turning point of the story—return and reunion.