Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त्वा सत्यव्रतशरीरात्पाशसंयुतः । अंगुष्ठमात्रं पुरुषं निचकर्ष यमो बलात्

Transliteration

evamuktvā satyavrataśarīrātpāśasaṃyutaḥ | aṃguṣṭhamātraṃ puruṣaṃ nicakarṣa yamo balāt

Translation

Après avoir ainsi parlé, Yama, muni de son lasso, arracha de force du corps de Satyavrata un être de la taille d’un pouce.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb: “thus”)

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त्वा (ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having said)

• सत्यव्रत-शरीरात्: from Satyavrata’s body
• सत्यव्रत-शरीरात्: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्यव्रत (प्रातिपदिक) + शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: सत्यव्रतस्य शरीरम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

• पाश-संयुतः: joined with a noose / holding a noose
• पाश-संयुतः: Kartā (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाश (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुत (कृदन्त, युज् धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष: पाशेन संयुतः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (यमस्य)

• अंगुष्ठ-मात्रम्: thumb-sized
• अंगुष्ठ-मात्रम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अंगुष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: अंगुष्ठस्य मात्रम् = thumb-sized); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (पुरुषम्)

• पुरुषम्: the person (soul/person-form)
• पुरुषम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• निचकर्ष: dragged/pulled out
• निचकर्ष: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृष् (धातु) उपसर्ग: नि-
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• बलात्: by force
• बलात्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb); हेतौ/प्रकारे (by force/forcibly)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama, holding the noose, draws out from Satyavrata’s body a tiny thumb-sized puruṣa—an ethereal figure emerging from the chest or crown—while Sāvitrī witnesses.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Pāśa (noose)
• Satyavrata
• Jīva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life is depicted as a subtle, extractable principle under cosmic law—death is not random but administered within dharma’s jurisdiction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya’s narrative tapestry; it does not itself praise a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a descriptive account of Yama’s act.