Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 121

Devanagari script

मूर्खस्तु मंदधीः पुत्रो दुःखं जनयते पितुः । अमार्गगो विशेषेण दुःखाद्दुःखतरं हि तत्

Transliteration

mūrkhastu maṃdadhīḥ putro duḥkhaṃ janayate pituḥ | amārgago viśeṣeṇa duḥkhādduḥkhataraṃ hi tat

Translation

Un fils sot, à l’intelligence obtuse, engendre la peine de son père. Et lorsqu’il marche sur la voie de l’adharma, cette peine devient, en vérité, plus douloureuse que la peine elle-même.

Word by Word

• मूर्खः: foolish
• मूर्खः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पुत्रः इत्यस्य)

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• मन्दधीः: slow-witted
• मन्दधीः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द + धी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पुत्रः इत्यस्य)

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जनयते: produces/causes
• जनयते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) (णिच् causative) → जनय (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• पितुः: of the father
• पितुः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• अमार्गगः: one who goes on a wrong path
• अमार्गगः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + मार्ग + ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पुत्रः इत्यस्य)

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषणवत् (instrumental used adverbially: especially)

• दुःखात्: than sorrow / from sorrow
• दुःखात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• दुःखतरम्: more painful
• दुःखतरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख + तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (implied, within Nārada’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Didactic tableau: the ṛṣi-father gestures in admonition; the son appears inattentive or wayward, turning away toward a darker path; symbolic forked road (mārga/amārga) behind them.

Characters & Entities

• Putra (son)
• Pitṛ (father)
• Amārga (wrong path)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Putra-dharma matters: a child’s unrighteous conduct becomes a severe source of suffering for parents and undermines household dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly, Vastrāpatha-kṣetra in the Prabhāsa region; the verse functions as ethical groundwork within the kṣetra-māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; it is a moral assessment of adharma.