Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 185

Devanagari script

सीताहरणजं दुःखं प्रथमं मे भविष्यति । नासाकर्णविहीनां तां करिष्ये राक्षसीं वने

Transliteration

sītāharaṇajaṃ duḥkhaṃ prathamaṃ me bhaviṣyati | nāsākarṇavihīnāṃ tāṃ kariṣye rākṣasīṃ vane

Translation

Mon premier grand chagrin naîtra de l’enlèvement de Sītā; et, dans la forêt, je rendrai cette rākṣasī privée de nez et d’oreilles.

Word by Word

• सीताहरणजम्: born from Sītā’s abduction
• सीताहरणजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सीताहरणज (प्रातिपदिक) = सीता + हरण + ज
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सीतायाः हरणम्) + तद्धित/कृदन्त-सम्बन्धः ‘ज’ (उत्पन्नः) — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; genitive-tatpurusha + ‘born of’ sense

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• प्रथमम्: first
• प्रथमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (दुःखम्) — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; adjective qualifying ‘duḥkham’

• मे: of me / for me
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक रूप) — Genitive (6th), Singular

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (भविष्यत्कालः), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम् — Future, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• नासाकर्णविहीनाम्: deprived of nose and ears
• नासाकर्णविहीनाम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नासाकर्णविहीन (प्रातिपदिक) = नासा + कर्ण + विहीन
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः द्वन्द्व (नासा+कर्ण) + तत्पुरुष (विहीनः) — Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; ‘devoid of nose and ears’

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• करिष्ये: I will make
• करिष्ये: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (भविष्यत्कालः), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम् — Future, 1st person, Singular, Atmanepada

• राक्षसीम्: a demoness
• राक्षसीम्: Karma (Object-complement/कर्म-सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular

Speaker

Śrī Rāma (as a prophetic/narrative voice within the Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Prabhāsa frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A somber forest scene: Rāma’s grief at Sītā’s abduction; a separate intense moment of Śūrpaṇakhā being disfigured (nose and ears cut), with the forest as witness—darkened palette, moral tension.

Characters & Entities

• Sītā
• Araṇya (forest)
• Rākṣasī (Śūrpaṇakhā implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma invites consequence; suffering is faced in the service of protecting virtue and the sanctity of relationships.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate frame is Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa; the verse uses Rāma-kathā as sacred exemplum rather than detailing a local rite.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is narrative-ethical instruction.