Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

कुण्डलीनः स्थितस्तत्र रंध्रापेक्षी वरानने । वणिजस्तस्य भार्यायाश्छिद्रान्वेषणतत्परः

Transliteration

kuṇḍalīnaḥ sthitastatra raṃdhrāpekṣī varānane | vaṇijastasya bhāryāyāśchidrānveṣaṇatatparaḥ

Translation

Ô dame au beau visage, je demeurai là, accroupi, guettant une ouverture — tout entier appliqué à chercher une faille chez l’épouse du marchand.

Word by Word

• कुण्डलीनः: coiled up; curled
• कुण्डलीनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुण्डलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (adjectival use)

• स्थितः: stood; remained
• स्थितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थकः (past passive participle)

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

• रन्ध्रापेक्षी: seeking an opening; looking for a loophole
• रन्ध्रापेक्षी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रन्ध्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अपेक्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: रन्ध्रस्य अपेक्षी); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• वरानने: O fair-faced one
• वरानने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (वरम् आननम् यस्याः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• वणिजः: the merchant
• वणिजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वणिज् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• भार्यायाः: of (his) wife
• भार्यायाः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• छिद्र: holes; openings
• छिद्र: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अन्वेषण: searching; investigation
• अन्वेषण: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनु-इष्/एष् (धातु) + ल्युट् (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त-नाम (ल्युट्/भाववाचक), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिकरूप; समासे पूर्वपद

• तत्परः: intent on; devoted to
• तत्परः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तत्पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Unspecified first-person narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya (deductively: the thief-speaker addressing a woman interlocutor)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A addressed woman (varānane) explicitly invoked

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shadowed figure crouches (kuṇḍalīna) behind a pillar or wall, eyes scanning for an opening; nearby, a merchant’s household is visible under lamplight, while the temple festival sounds drift through the night—creating moral tension.

Characters & Entities

• Merchant (Dhana, implied)
• Merchant’s wife
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse highlights the mindset of adharma—looking for others’ ‘gaps’—as a contrast to the devotees’ purity and vigilance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where the sacred observance continues even as adharma attempts to intrude.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse narrates the thief’s intent during the Śivarātri setting.