Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

गृहीत्वानशनं ये तु प्राणांस्त्यक्ष्यंति मानवाः । निश्चयं ते महादेवि लीयंते परमेश्वरे

Transliteration

gṛhītvānaśanaṃ ye tu prāṇāṃstyakṣyaṃti mānavāḥ | niścayaṃ te mahādevi līyaṃte parameśvare

Translation

Ceux qui entreprennent l’anasana (jeûne jusqu’à la mort) puis abandonnent le souffle de vie, ô Grande Déesse, se fondent assurément en Parameśvara, le Seigneur suprême.

Word by Word

• गृहीत्वा: having undertaken/taken up
• गृहीत्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु) → गृहीत्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• अनशनम्: fasting (not eating)
• अनशनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• प्राणान्: life-breaths; lives
• प्राणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• त्यक्ष्यन्ति: will abandon
• त्यक्ष्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (भविष्यत्), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• मानवाः: men
• मानवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• निश्चयम्: certainly
• निश्चयम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: निश्चय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावे/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण द्वितीया-एकवचनम्; अर्थे ‘निश्चितम्/अवश्यं’ (certainly)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• लीयन्ते: merge/dissolve
• लीयन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ली (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• परमेश्वरे: in the Supreme Lord
• परमेश्वरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (परमः ईश्वरः)

Speaker

Narrator (māhātmya statement; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī/Devī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vow-keeper emaciated by fasting sits facing a Śiva-liṅga near the sea at Prabhāsa; at the moment of prāṇa-tyāga, a radiant current rises and dissolves into a vast form of Parameśvara while Devī is addressed as Mahādevī.

Characters & Entities

• Anaśana (fasting)
• Parameśvara
• Mahādevī (addressed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Extreme renunciation undertaken with sacred intent in a holy context is portrayed as leading to union with Parameśvara.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, tied to the Saṅgāleśvara sacred field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Anaśana—vowed abstention from food culminating in relinquishing the prāṇas—is mentioned as a path to merging in Parameśvara.