Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

ततश्चक्र उपायं स ब्राह्मणानां निपातने । मत्स्यानामामिषं पक्त्वा महान्नेन च गोपितम्

Transliteration

tataścakra upāyaṃ sa brāhmaṇānāṃ nipātane | matsyānāmāmiṣaṃ paktvā mahānnena ca gopitam

Translation

Puis il imagina un stratagème pour causer la chute des brāhmaṇas : il fit cuire de la chair de poisson et la dissimula sous une grande quantité de riz et de nourriture.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/then) = adverb

• cakra: made, devised
• cakra: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद = Perfect, 3rd person singular; ‘चकार’ अर्थे

• upāyam: a plan, means
• upāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन = Masculine, Accusative singular

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन = Masculine, Nominative singular pronoun

• brāhmaṇānām: of the brahmins
• brāhmaṇānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन = Masculine, Genitive plural

• nipātane: for the bringing down (killing)
• nipātane: Adhikaraṇa (Purpose/occasion locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nipātana (प्रातिपदिक; ni-√pat पत् ‘to fall’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन = Neuter, Locative singular; प्रयोजन/विषय-स्थाने

• matsyānām: of fish
• matsyānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: matsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन = Masculine, Genitive plural

• āmiṣam: flesh, bait
• āmiṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āmiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter, Accusative singular

• paktvā: having cooked
• paktvā: Pūrvakāla (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √pac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) = having cooked

• mahā-annena: with much food
• mahā-annena: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन = Neuter, Instrumental singular; समासः = कर्मधारयः (महद् अन्नम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) = conjunction

• gopitam: hidden, covered
• gopitam: Karta (Predicate adjective/result state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gopita (कृदन्त/क्त-प्रातिपदिक; √gup/√gop गुप्/गोप् ‘to conceal/protect’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter, Nom/Acc singular; भूतकृदन्त; (उपायम्/आमीषम्) इत्यस्य विधेय-विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual attribution)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical; not explicit in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A figure cooks fish-flesh and hides it beneath a mound of rice, preparing a deceptive offering; the kitchen/shore setting feels tense, with shadows suggesting moral corruption.

Characters & Entities

• Samudra (Ocean)
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma warns that deceit—even under the guise of hospitality—becomes a cause of grave karmic consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is situated within Prabhāsa Kṣetra, whose Māhātmya frames moral causality in a sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies rules of purity in offerings/food (anna), though it does not state a formal rite.