Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

च्यवनस्य च सप्तैव जाबालेर्द्विशतं मुनेः । वालखिल्याश्रमे पुण्ये षट्छतानि दुरात्मभिः

Transliteration

cyavanasya ca saptaiva jābālerdviśataṃ muneḥ | vālakhilyāśrame puṇye ṣaṭchatāni durātmabhiḥ

Translation

Sept de Cyavana furent aussi consumés, ainsi que deux cents du sage Jābāli. Dans le saint ermitage de Vālakhilya, ces êtres pervers en dévorèrent encore six cents.

Word by Word

• च्यवनस्य: of Cyavana
• च्यवनस्य: Sambandha (Of Cyavana/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: च्यवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Visheshana (Numerical qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सप्त (अव्यय/संख्याशब्द)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-अव्यय (cardinal numeral)

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• जाबालेः: of Jābāli
• जाबालेः: Sambandha (Of Jābāli/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाबालि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• द्विशतम्: two hundred
• द्विशतम्: Karta (Count/subject-like numeral)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि-शत (प्रातिपदिक; द्वि + शत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Nominative/Accusative singular; द्विगु-समास

• मुनेः: of the sage
• मुनेः: Sambandha (Of the sage/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• वालखिल्याश्रमे: in the Vālakhilya hermitage
• वालखिल्याश्रमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वालखिल्य-आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक; वालखिल्य + आश्रम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वालखिल्यानाम् आश्रमः)

• पुण्ये: holy
• पुण्ये: Adhikarana (Qualifier in locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Locative singular; विशेषण (आश्रमे)

• षट्छतानि: six hundreds (i.e., six hundred units)
• षट्छतानि: Karta (Count/subject-like numeral)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट्-शत (प्रातिपदिक; षट् + शत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — Nominative/Accusative plural; द्विगु-समास

• दुरात्मभिः: by evil-souled ones
• दुरात्मभिः: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुरात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/सह), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (narrative frame) / Vālakhilyāśrama (episode locus)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moonlit hermitage grove labeled Vālakhilya-āśrama; terrified ascetics, extinguished sacrificial fires, and shadowy daitya figures dragging away sages; the aftermath hinted by scattered bones and broken ladles.

Characters & Entities

• Cyavana
• Jābāli
• Vālakhilya-āśrama
• Kālakeyas (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy āśramas represent living dharma; their violation is portrayed as a grave cosmic offense demanding restoration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vālakhilya āśrama (hermitage) within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse highlights the sanctity of āśramas by contrasting it with the demons’ wrongdoing.