Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

तस्माल्लोकद्वयध्वंसी न कर्त्तव्यो मदस्त्वया । यदीच्छसि महाराज शाश्वतीं गतिमात्मनः

Transliteration

tasmāllokadvayadhvaṃsī na karttavyo madastvayā | yadīcchasi mahārāja śāśvatīṃ gatimātmanaḥ

Translation

C’est pourquoi tu ne dois pas t’abandonner à l’orgueil, car il détruit les deux mondes. Si tu désires pour toi une destinée éternelle, ô grand roi, renonce à l’arrogance.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore, from that
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (ablative singular; pronoun)

• lokadvaya-dhvaṃsī: destroyer of both worlds
• lokadvaya-dhvaṃsī: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaṃsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (lokadvayasya dhvaṃsī) (masculine, nominative singular; genitive tatpurusha)

• na: not
• na: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• kartavyaḥ: should be done
• kartavyaḥ: Kriya (Obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + tavya (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तव्यत्-कृदन्तः (कर्तव्य), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः एकवचनम्; विधेय-विशेषणम् (gerundive/passive necessity; masc. nom. sg.)

• madaḥ: pride, intoxication
• madaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (masculine, nominative singular)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (2nd person pronoun, instrumental singular)

• yadi: if
• yadi: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्ययम् (conditional particle: if)

• icchasi: you desire
• icchasi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमानकालः), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम् (present indicative, active, 2nd person singular)

• mahārāja: O great king
• mahārāja: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (mahān rājā) (masculine, vocative singular)

• śāśvatīm: eternal
• śāśvatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāśvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (feminine, accusative singular)

• gatim: path, state, destiny
• gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (feminine, accusative singular)

• ātmanaḥ: of yourself
• ātmanaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (masculine, genitive singular)

Speaker

Unspecified (a sage/counsellor addressing the king, within Īśvara’s narration context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king addressed in second person)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage or divine speaker admonishes a crowned king, gesturing toward the transient nature of worldly power; the king lowers his head in humility, with Prabhāsa’s coastal sacred landscape faintly suggested.

Characters & Entities

• mahārāja (great king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pride ruins worldly stability and spiritual progress; humility safeguards both prosperity and liberation-oriented destiny.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is framed within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, where sacred association supports moral purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual; it prescribes a moral vrata-like discipline: renouncing mada (arrogance).