Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 182

Devanagari script

तुलसीकाष्ठमालां तु प्रेतराजस्य दूतकाः । दृष्ट्वा दूरेण नश्यंति वातोद्धूता यथाऽलयः

Transliteration

tulasīkāṣṭhamālāṃ tu pretarājasya dūtakāḥ | dṛṣṭvā dūreṇa naśyaṃti vātoddhūtā yathā'layaḥ

Translation

À la vue d’un chapelet fait de bois de tulasī, les messagers du Seigneur des Défunts (Yama) s’enfuient de loin, tels un nid emporté par le vent.

Word by Word

• तुलसीकाष्ठमालाम्: tulasī-wood garland
• तुलसीकाष्ठमालाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुलसी (प्रातिपदिक) + काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः: तुलसीकाष्ठस्य माला (garland of tulasī-wood)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrast/emphasis particle)

• प्रेतराजस्य: of the lord of the dead (Yama)
• प्रेतराजस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक) + राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः: प्रेतानां राजा (king of the departed = Yama)

• दूतकाः: messengers
• दूतकाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दूतक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having seen’

• दूरेण: from afar
• दूरेण: Adverbial (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (used adverbially: ‘from afar’)

• नश्यन्ति: perish/vanish
• नश्यन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• वातोद्धूताः: blown away by wind
• वातोद्धूताः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वात (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्धूत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘blown away’; विशेषणम् (qualifying implied subject ‘दूतकाः’)

• यथा: as/like
• यथा: Upamana marker (उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• अलयः: swarms of bees
• अलयः: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (within Dvārakā Māhātmya narration; attributed to the chapter’s narrator voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim/householder addressee

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee wearing a tulasī-wood rosary; shadowy Yama-dūtas approach but recoil and vanish like a nest scattered by wind; a subtle Vaiṣṇava aura surrounds the devotee.

Characters & Entities

• Tulasī
• Yama (Pretarāja)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional signs like the tulasī mālā symbolize surrender to Hari and are said to ward off fear and punitive forces.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is the broader setting of this teaching within the Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Wearing/keeping a tulasī-wood mālā as a devotional and protective observance.