Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

ऐरावणं सदा मत्तं कथं नो याचते बलिः । चतुरं तुरगं कस्मान्नार्पयति दिवाकरः

Transliteration

airāvaṇaṃ sadā mattaṃ kathaṃ no yācate baliḥ | caturaṃ turagaṃ kasmānnārpayati divākaraḥ

Translation

«Comment se fait-il que Bali ne nous réclame pas Airāvaṇa, toujours en rut ? Et pourquoi le Soleil ne lui offre-t-il pas son cheval, rapide et avisé ?»

Word by Word

• airāvaṇam: Airāvata (elephant)
• airāvaṇam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: airāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नित्यत्ववाचक (always)

• mattam: intoxicated
• mattam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: matta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• katham: how
• katham: Prayojana/Question (interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नवाचक (how)

• naḥ: to us / our
• naḥ: Sampradāna (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/4th) बहुवचन; अस्मद्-प्रत्यय (enclitic); अर्थे: 'our/to us' (context decides)

• yācate: asks
• yācate: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yāc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; धातु: याच् (to ask/beg)

• baliḥ: Bali
• baliḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• caturam: clever / excellent
• caturam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• turagam: horse
• turagam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: turaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kasmāt: from what cause? / why
• kasmāt: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• arpayati: offers / gives
• arpayati: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arpay (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: अर्पय् (to offer/give)

• divākaraḥ: Divākara (the Sun)
• divākaraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divākara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual speaker within the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rhetorical questioning scene: a speaker points to imagined divine possessions—Airāvata (Indra’s elephant) and the Sun’s swift horse—wondering why Bali has not demanded them.

Characters & Entities

• Bali
• Airāvaṇa
• Divākara (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It highlights how cosmic powers and possessions are governed by dharma and divine order, not merely by desire or entitlement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, praising the sanctity of Vastrāpatha in the Prabhāsa sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is stated in this verse; it is part of a narrative argument about divine order.