Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

शास्ता भवान्प्रजानां हि न न्यायेन नियोक्ष्यति । भविष्यति भवांस्तस्मात्कृकलासो न संशयः

Transliteration

śāstā bhavānprajānāṃ hi na nyāyena niyokṣyati | bhaviṣyati bhavāṃstasmātkṛkalāso na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

«Bien que tu sois le châtieur et le gouvernant du peuple, tu ne le diriges pas selon la justice. C’est pourquoi tu deviendras un lézard, sans aucun doute».

Word by Word

• śāstā: ruler/disciplinarian
• śāstā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāstṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-नाम (agent noun)

• bhavān: you (honorific)
• bhavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम-प्रयोग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; आदरार्थ-प्रयोग (honorific pronoun)

• prajānām: of the subjects/people
• prajānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• nyāyena: by justice/rightly
• nyāyena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• niyokṣyati: will appoint/command
• niyokṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni√yuj (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; उपसर्ग: नि-

• bhaviṣyati: will become
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• bhavān: you
• bhavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम-प्रयोग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; आदरार्थ

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: तस्मात्-इत्यव्यय (ablatival adverb), हेत्वर्थ ‘therefore/from that’

• kṛkalāsaḥ: a lizard
• kṛkalāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛkalāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: no/not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Two brāhmaṇas (pronouncing the curse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The brāhmaṇas pronounce the curse with authoritative gestures; the king is implied as the target within the palace—an unseen sovereign about to be reduced to a lizard, symbolizing moral collapse.

Characters & Entities

• Nṛga
• two brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power without justice is adharma; when a ruler abandons nyāya, karmic retribution follows inevitably.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The account belongs to the Dvārakā Māhātmya, linking ethical governance with the sacred history of Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is stated; the focus is on judicial dharma (nyāya) and its breach.