Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

आस्फोटयंति पितरः प्रहर्षंति पितामहाः । एवं तं स्वसुतं दृष्ट्वा शृण्वानं कृष्णसंभवम्

Transliteration

āsphoṭayaṃti pitaraḥ praharṣaṃti pitāmahāḥ | evaṃ taṃ svasutaṃ dṛṣṭvā śṛṇvānaṃ kṛṣṇasaṃbhavam

Translation

Les Pères battent des mains de joie, et les aïeux se réjouissent, lorsqu’ils voient leur propre descendant écouter le récit sacré né de (et célébrant) Kṛṣṇa.

Word by Word

• āsphoṭayanti: clap/snaps (in joy)
• āsphoṭayanti: Kriya (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sphoṭ (स्फोट्, स्फोटने/ध्वनौ)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• pitaraḥ: the fathers/ancestors
• pitaraḥ: Karta (subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• praharṣanti: rejoice
• praharṣanti: Kriya (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√hṛṣ (हृष्, हर्षे)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• pitāmahāḥ: the grandfathers
• pitāmahāḥ: Karta (subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-visheshana (manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार-वाचक (thus/in this way)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (object of 'dṛṣṭvā')
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sva-sutam: one's own son
• sva-sutam: Karma (object of 'dṛṣṭvā')
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (स्वस्य सुतम्)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्, दर्शने)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): having seen

• śṛṇvānām: listening
• śṛṇvānām: Visheshana (of 'tam/sva-sutam')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √śru (श्रु, श्रवणे) + -āna (शानच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; वर्तमानकाले शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त (present active participle)

• kṛṣṇa-saṃbhavam: the birth/origin of Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇa-saṃbhavam: Karma (object of 'śṛṇvānām' understood: listening to the origin)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णस्य सम्भवम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Skanda Purāṇa context within Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-inquirer

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An intergenerational vision: a devotee listens to Kṛṣṇa-kathā while, in a subtle upper register, pitṛs and pitāmahas in luminous forms clap and rejoice, showering blessings; the scene blends earthly satsang with ancestral realm.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti is not only personal; hearing Kṛṣṇa-centered sacred narration is portrayed as uplifting one’s lineage and pleasing the ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā by context, as the Māhātmya situates Kṛṣṇa-kathā and its fruits within Dvārakā’s sacred field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (devotional listening) of Kṛṣṇa-related Purāṇic narrative—implicitly Bhāgavata-kathā.