Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

देवमानुषयोर्नेता द्योभुवोः प्रभवो हरिः । किमर्थं द्वारकां त्यक्त्वा प्रभासे निधनं गतः

Transliteration

devamānuṣayornetā dyobhuvoḥ prabhavo hariḥ | kimarthaṃ dvārakāṃ tyaktvā prabhāse nidhanaṃ gataḥ

Translation

Hari est le guide des dieux et des hommes, la source du ciel et de la terre. Pour quelle raison quitta-t-il Dvārakā et atteignit-il sa fin à Prabhāsa ?

Word by Word

• देवमानुषयोः: of gods and humans
• देवमानुषयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + मानुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (देवाश्च मानुषाश्च), षष्ठी, द्विवचन — Dvandva compound, Genitive (6th), Dual

• नेता: leader
• नेता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नी (धातु) + तृ (कृत्-प्रत्यय) → नेतृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्तरि तृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Agent noun, Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• द्योभुवोः: of heaven and earth
• द्योभुवोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्यौ + भुव्/भू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (द्यौश्च भुवश्च), षष्ठी, द्विवचन — Dvandva compound, Genitive (6th), Dual

• प्रभवः: source/origin
• प्रभवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• हरिः: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• किमर्थम्: why? for what reason?
• किमर्थम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् + अर्थम् (अव्ययीभाव-समासवत् प्रयोग)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक अव्यय (किमर्थम् = कस्य अर्थे/कस्मात् कारणात्) — Interrogative indeclinable (reason/purpose)

• द्वारकाम्: Dvārikā
• द्वारकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• त्यक्त्वा: having left
• त्यक्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) + त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त — Absolutive (gerund)

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Masculine, Locative (7th), Singular

• निधनम्: death, end
• निधनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• गतः: went/attained
• गतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past participle used as finite sense, Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grave, luminous inquiry: Hari—leader of gods and humans, source of heaven and earth—leaves Dvārakā and reaches ‘nidhana’ at Prabhāsa; the art can foreshadow the quiet coastal grove and the cosmic stillness of withdrawal.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Dvārakā
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas portray divine ‘departure’ not as defeat but as līlā—events anchored to sacred places to teach dharma and the impermanence of worldly cities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa is presented as the significant locale associated with Hari’s final act, intensifying its māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal question anticipating a sacred-history explanation of Prabhāsa.