Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

निर्दहेद्भगवान्रुद्रस्त्रैलोक्यं सचराचरम् । किं पुनर्मानुषं हीनमत्यंतवि षयात्मकम्

Transliteration

nirdahedbhagavānrudrastrailokyaṃ sacarācaram | kiṃ punarmānuṣaṃ hīnamatyaṃtavi ṣayātmakam

Translation

Le Seigneur Rudra pourrait consumer les trois mondes, avec tout ce qui est mobile et immobile ; combien plus aisément donc un humain fragile, inférieur, entièrement lié aux objets des sens !

Word by Word

• nirdahet: may (he) burn up / would burn
• nirdahet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-dah (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/optative sense), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular)

• bhagavān: the Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masc.), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• rudraḥ: Rudra (Śiva)
• rudraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; भेदक-अपपद/सम्बोधनार्थे विशेष्य-समनाधिकरणम् (appositional)

• trailokyam: the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः (neut.), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम्; द्विगुसमासः (three worlds)

• sa-carācaram: with all moving and unmoving beings
• sa-carācaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + cara + acara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; द्वन्द्वसमासः (चर + अचर) ततः ‘स’ उपपदेन सह (with moving and unmoving)

• kim: what? / how much more?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; प्रश्नार्थकं सर्वनाम (interrogative)

• punar: then / moreover
• punar: Sambandha/Upapada (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अव्यय-निपातः (particle: ‘again/then/moreover’)

• mānuṣam: a human (being)
• mānuṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• hīnam: inferior, base
• hīnam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (qualifying mānuṣam)

• atyanta-viṣaya-ātmakam: entirely sense-object-oriented
• atyanta-viṣaya-ātmakam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atyanta (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + viṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समासार्थः (viṣaya-ātmakam = ‘of the nature of sense-objects’, with intensifier atyanta)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary contrast: Rudra as cosmic fire capable of burning the three worlds, juxtaposed with a small, trembling human figure bound by sensory attachments.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Recognize Śiva’s supreme power and cultivate humility; sense-attachment makes humans spiritually vulnerable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, reinforcing the Shaiva sanctity of the region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated; the verse functions as a warning that prompts recourse to dharmic appeasement and worship.