Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 162

Devanagari script

क्रीडमानोऽप्सरोभिस्तु तत्रोद्याने स्थितस्ततः । शुश्राव वाक्यं कन्याया गंधर्वदुहितुस्तदा

Transliteration

krīḍamāno'psarobhistu tatrodyāne sthitastataḥ | śuśrāva vākyaṃ kanyāyā gaṃdharvaduhitustadā

Translation

Puis, tandis qu’il se divertissait avec les apsaras et se tenait dans ce jardin, il entendit les paroles de cette jeune fille, fille d’un Gandharva.

Word by Word

• krīḍamānaḥ: while sporting
• krīḍamānaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √krīḍ (क्रीड्) (धातु) + शानच् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'playing/sporting'

• apsarobhiḥ: with apsarases
• apsarobhiḥ: Sahakāraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apsaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/अवधारण/विरोध) = particle ('but/indeed')

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक अव्यय) = locative adverb

• udyāne: in the garden
• udyāne: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• sthitaḥ: standing; stationed
• sthitaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (State/अवस्था)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था) (धातु) + क्त (क्तप्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'having stood/being stationed'

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/अनन्तरम्) = 'then/from there'

• śuśrāva: heard
• śuśrāva: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु) (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्सभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• vākyam: speech; words
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kanyāyāḥ: of the maiden
• kanyāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• gandharva-duhituḥ: of the Gandharva's daughter
• gandharva-duhituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandharva (प्रातिपदिक) + duhitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: गन्धर्वस्य दुहितुः

• tadā: at that time
• tadā: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = temporal adverb

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial garden in Prabhāsa: a figure stands amid flowering trees and jeweled pavilions, apsarases in playful movement; from aside, a gandharva-maiden speaks, her words catching the listener’s attention.

Characters & Entities

• apsaras
• Gandharva
• Gandharva-duhitṛ (Gandharva’s daughter)
• udyāna (garden)
• Śikhaṇḍī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Speech is consequential; in a sacred setting, arrogant words become the immediate cause for karmic correction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, depicted as a spiritually charged place where divine beings are present and moral order is enforced.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse transitions into the key moral utterance that triggers the forthcoming curse.