Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

पूर्वमुक्तस्तव पिता मया बाण पदत्रयम् । देहि मह्यं प्रमाणेन तदेतत्समनुष्ठितम्

Transliteration

pūrvamuktastava pitā mayā bāṇa padatrayam | dehi mahyaṃ pramāṇena tadetatsamanuṣṭhitam

Translation

«Autrefois, ô Bāṇa, j’ai demandé à ton père “trois pas” de terre. Montre-moi, par une preuve légitime, que cela a bien été accompli selon la règle.»

Word by Word

• pūrvam: formerly, previously
• pūrvam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): 'पूर्वम्' = formerly/previously

• uktaḥ: said, declared
• uktaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Predicative participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) → ukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त/past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; 'उक्तः' = having been said/declared

• tava: your
• tava: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन; 'तव' = of you/your

• pitā: father
• pitā: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartṛ-karaṇa (Agent/instrument in passive sense/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), एकवचन; 'मया' = by me

• bāṇa: O Bāṇa
• bāṇa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• pada-trayam: three steps
• pada-trayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वक): 'त्रयम् पदम्' = three steps

• dehi: give
• dehi: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धा धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahyam: to me
• mahyam: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), चतुर्थी (4th/dative), एकवचन; 'मह्यम्' = to me

• pramāṇena: with proof; by due measure/authority
• pramāṇena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), एकवचन; 'प्रमाणेन' = with proof/according to measure/authority

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; sandhi in 'tad etat'

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; deictic 'this'

• samanuṣṭhitam: duly performed
• samanuṣṭhitam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa / Predicative (Predicate participle/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√sthā (स्था धातु) → samanuṣṭhita (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त/past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'समनुष्ठितम्' = duly performed/accomplished

Speaker

Janārdana / Trivikrama (Viṣṇu, as Vāmana-Trivikrama narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Janārdana addresses Bāṇa directly: ‘I asked your father for three steps—show proof it was properly fulfilled.’ The moment evokes the impending Trivikrama expansion, though expressed as a juridical demand for evidence.

Characters & Entities

• Bāṇa
• Bali
• Trivikrama (implied)
• Vāmana (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A gift (dāna) becomes spiritually binding when it is properly completed according to pramāṇa—truthful intention and correct fulfillment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is narrated within the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya of Prabhāsa, grounding Purāṇic ethics in sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse points to the rule of completing a vowed gift with pramāṇa (due measure/valid proof), a dharmic standard for dāna and yajña commitments.