Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

आदौ माहिषकं दृष्ट्वा मध्ये च वृषलीपतिम् । अन्ते वार्धुषिकं दृष्ट्वा निराशाः पितरो गताः

Transliteration

ādau māhiṣakaṃ dṛṣṭvā madhye ca vṛṣalīpatim | ante vārdhuṣikaṃ dṛṣṭvā nirāśāḥ pitaro gatāḥ

Translation

Voyant d’abord un māhiṣaka, au milieu l’« époux d’une vṛṣalī », et à la fin un vārdhuṣika, les Pitṛs (ancêtres) s’en vont dans la déception, leurs espérances demeurant vaines.

Word by Word

• ādau: at first
• ādau: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (adverbial locative): ‘in the beginning’

• māhiṣakam: a māhiṣaka (person)
• māhiṣakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhiṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund): ‘having seen’

• madhye: in the middle
• madhye: Kāla/Deśa (Temporal/Spatial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (adverbial locative): ‘in the middle’

• ca: and
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• vṛṣalīpatim: husband of a śūdra woman
• vṛṣalīpatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣalī (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृषल्याः पतिम्)

• ante: at the end
• ante: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (adverbial locative): ‘at the end’

• vārdhuṣikam: a vārdhuṣika (usurer/moneylender)
• vārdhuṣikam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārdhuṣika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund)

• nirāśāḥ: hopeless
• nirāśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-āśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• pitaraḥ: the forefathers
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• gatāḥ: went/are gone
• gatāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; क्रियापदवत् (periphrastic perfect sense)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A triptych-like composition: at the start of a śrāddha procession a figure labeled māhiṣaka appears; mid-ritual a vṛṣalīpati is encountered; at the end a vārdhuṣika appears; above them, translucent Pitṛs turn away and fade, showing dashed expectations.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha and Pitṛ-offerings must be performed with dhārmic purity of company and conduct; otherwise the intended ancestral blessing is obstructed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha) is the overarching sacred geography of this section, framing rules connected to merit and ancestral rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implicit prescription: avoid ineligible or dharma-prohibited persons/associations during Śrāddha so the Pitṛs do not ‘depart disappointed’.