Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

एको दोषोऽस्ति नान्यश्च सोऽद्यप्रभृति सत्यवान् । संवत्सरेण क्षीणायुर्देहत्यागं करिष्यति

Transliteration

eko doṣo'sti nānyaśca so'dyaprabhṛti satyavān | saṃvatsareṇa kṣīṇāyurdehatyāgaṃ kariṣyati

Translation

Il n’est qu’un seul défaut, et nul autre : dès ce jour, la durée de vie de Satyavān décroît. Dans l’espace d’une année, il quittera son corps (il rencontrera la mort).

Word by Word

• ekaḥ: one, single
• ekaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• doṣaḥ: fault, defect
• doṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• asti: is, exists
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negative particle)

• anyaḥ: another
• anyaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (elliptic: 'another [fault]')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• adya: today, now
• adya: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• prabhṛti: from (this time) onward
• prabhṛti: Apadana (Ablative sense/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: आरम्भवाचक अव्यय (from, starting from)

• satyavān: truthful
• satyavān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: satyavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• saṃvatsareṇa: within a year / by a year
• saṃvatsareṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• kṣīṇa-āyuḥ: with life-span diminished
• kṣīṇa-āyuḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣīṇa (कृदन्त/विशेषण; √kṣi क्षि धातु, क्त) + āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (kṣīṇam āyuḥ yasya/‘having diminished life’)

• deha-tyāgam: abandoning the body, death
• deha-tyāgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक) + tyāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dehasya tyāgaḥ)

• kariṣyati: will do, will undergo
• kariṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Nārada (implied by immediate continuation: the king’s daughter speaks after hearing Nārada’s words)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Primary interlocutor not specified in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage’s grave pronouncement: Satyavān stands radiant yet shadowed by the unseen presence of Kāla; the court/hall falls silent, faces turning from admiration to dread.

Characters & Entities

• Satyavān
• Nārada

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly excellence remains subject to mortality; Dharma is tested when fate reveals impermanence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is embedded in Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, linking life-lessons to the sacred geography of Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is stated; the verse presents a karmic/time-bound destiny (āyuḥ-kṣaya).