Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

कस्तदुल्लंघयेन्मूढः प्राणैः कंठग तैरपि

Transliteration

kastadullaṃghayenmūḍhaḥ prāṇaiḥ kaṃṭhaga tairapi

Translation

«Quel insensé le transgresserait, fût-ce lorsque son souffle même lui monte à la gorge ?»

Word by Word

• कः: who
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उल्लङ्घयेत्: would transgress
• उल्लङ्घयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-√लङ्घ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मूढः: a deluded person
• मूढः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूढ (कृदन्त; √मुह् (धातु) क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तृपद-विशेषणवत्

• प्राणैः: with (one’s) life-breaths, even at the cost of life
• प्राणैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कण्ठग: stuck in the throat (i.e., at the point of death)
• कण्ठग: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कण्ठग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणं ‘प्राणैः’; (कण्ठगत-रूपेण ‘कण्ठगैः’ अपेक्षितम्; पाठभेद/लोपः सम्भाव्यः)

• तैः: with those
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘प्राणैः’ इत्यस्य पुनर्निर्देशः

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ (particle: even/also)

Speaker

Unspecified (same dialogue stream; rhetorical emphasis on non-transgression of dharma)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at Prabhāsa stands firm before temptations/pressures to break a sacred rule; his throat tight with emotion, yet he refuses to transgress, with Śiva’s emblematic presence above.

Characters & Entities

• Śruti
• Smṛti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

One should not abandon dharma for convenience; śāstric limits remain binding even in extreme crisis.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where steadfast adherence to dharma is praised as part of the site’s sacred ethos.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An ethical injunction: do not violate the śāstric command (implied: Śruti–Smṛti).