Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

तीर्थासक्ताः सपत्नीका यथालब्धोपजीविनः । महासाहसयुक्तास्ते वैतालाख्यास्तु साधकाः

Transliteration

tīrthāsaktāḥ sapatnīkā yathālabdhopajīvinaḥ | mahāsāhasayuktāste vaitālākhyāstu sādhakāḥ

Translation

Ceux qui sont attachés aux tīrtha (gués sacrés), vivent avec leurs épouses, subsistent de ce qui vient de soi, et sont doués d’une grande audace : de tels pratiquants sont appelés les sādhaka « Vaitāla ».

Word by Word

• तीर्थासक्ताः: attached to pilgrim-places
• तीर्थासक्ताः: Visheshana (Adjective of ते/साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + आसक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (तीर्थेषु आसक्ताः)

• सपत्नीकाḥ: having wives
• सपत्नीकाḥ: Visheshana (Adjective of ते/साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + पत्नीका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (पत्नी अस्ति येषाम्)

• यथा: as/according to
• यथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb)

• लब्ध: obtained
• लब्ध: Upapada (Compound member)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसक/पुं-प्रातिपदिकरूपे समासाङ्ग

• उपजीविनः: those who live by (it)
• उपजीविनः: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपजीविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• महासाहसयुक्ताः: endowed with great daring
• महासाहसयुक्ताः: Visheshana (Adjective of ते/साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + साहस (प्रातिपदिक) + युक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (महासाहसेन युक्ताः)

• ते: they/those
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वैतालाख्याः: called ‘Vaitāla’
• वैतालाख्याः: Visheshana (Name/epithet of साधकाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैताल (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (वैताल इति आख्या येषाम्)

• तु: and/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• साधकाः: practitioners
• साधकाः: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A couple in simple attire walks along a sacred ford with offerings; they accept alms without asking; the practitioner carries a staff and looks fearless, while a faint ‘vetāla’ iconography is avoided—focus is on the epithet as a sādhaka-type, not a ghoul.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• sādhaka
• vaitāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage-centered life, contentment with chance gains, and courageous discipline are presented as a valid sādhana-path.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra and its tīrtha-culture, where varied modes of religious life are acknowledged.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single rite is prescribed; the discipline highlighted is tīrtha-āśraya (devotion to sacred places) with yathālabdha subsistence.