Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

कथं खिन्ना द्विजश्रेष्ठाः सदा शांतिपरायणाः । प्रसन्नवदना भूत्वा श्रूयतां वचनं मम

Transliteration

kathaṃ khinnā dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ sadā śāṃtiparāyaṇāḥ | prasannavadanā bhūtvā śrūyatāṃ vacanaṃ mama

Translation

Comment se fait-il que vous, ô les meilleurs des deux-fois-nés, toujours voués à la paix, soyez abattus ainsi ? Prenez un visage serein et écoutez mes paroles.

Word by Word

• katham: how
• katham: Question marker (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• khinnāḥ: distressed
• khinnāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: khinna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ: O best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (श्रेष्ठाः द्विजाः)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (always)

• śānti-parāyaṇāḥ: devoted to peace
• śānti-parāyaṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śānti (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शान्तौ परायणाः = devoted to peace)

• prasanna-vadanāḥ: with cheerful faces
• prasanna-vadanāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasanna (प्रातिपदिक) + vadana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (प्रसन्नं वदनं येषाम्)

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालिक क्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhū (धातु) → bhūtvā (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• śrūyatām: let (it) be heard
• śrūyatām: Kriya (Imperative/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-प्रायः), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (let it be heard)

• vacanam: word, statement
• vacanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• mama: my
• mama: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context; explicit at 33)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva addresses the sages directly, questioning their dejection; the munis’ faces soften from anger to calm as they prepare to listen.

Characters & Entities

• Dvija (Brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A calm, receptive mind is the doorway to dharmic instruction and higher insight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha region), within the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa’s Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse prepares the listeners to receive a dharmic directive.