Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्र पूर्वं शची राजन्प्रविष्टा दुःखसंयुता । नहुषेण हृते राज्ये देवेन्द्रस्य महात्मनः

Transliteration

tatra pūrvaṃ śacī rājanpraviṣṭā duḥkhasaṃyutā | nahuṣeṇa hṛte rājye devendrasya mahātmanaḥ

Translation

Là, autrefois, ô roi, Śacī entra, accablée de peine, lorsque Nahuṣa eut ravi le royaume du magnanime Devendra (Indra).

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of place)

• पूर्वम्: formerly, earlier
• पूर्वम्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• शची: Śacī (Indra's consort)
• शची: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘प्रविष्टा’ = entered

• दुःखसंयुता: afflicted with sorrow
• दुःखसंयुता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण; (दुःखेन संयुता) तृतीया-तत्पुरुष

• नहुषेण: by Nahusha
• नहुषेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नहुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• हृते: (when) taken away
• हृते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘हृते’ = when (it was) taken

• राज्ये: in the kingdom; in the sovereignty
• राज्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• देवेन्द्रस्य: of Devendra (Indra)
• देवेन्द्रस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; (देवानाम् इन्द्रः) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; विशेषण; (महान् आत्मा यस्य) कर्मधारय-समास

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aviyukta Vana

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śacī, veiled and sorrowful, enters a sacred forest hermitage; the mood is tense—Indra’s throne has been seized by Nahuṣa; sages and forest-deities witness her distress.

Characters & Entities

• Śacī (Indrāṇī)
• Indra (Devendra, Śatakratu)
• Nahuṣa
• Aviyukta-vana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places serve as refuge during crisis; taking shelter in a tīrtha supports restoration of dharma and rightful order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aviyukta-vana, presented as the setting where Śacī sought shelter in a time of upheaval.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse provides narrative context establishing the site’s sanctity.