Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

निःशब्दपदसञ्चारः संज्ञासंकेतभाषकः । गिरिं संवेष्टयामास वागुराभिः स्वयं नृपः

Transliteration

niḥśabdapadasañcāraḥ saṃjñāsaṃketabhāṣakaḥ | giriṃ saṃveṣṭayāmāsa vāgurābhiḥ svayaṃ nṛpaḥ

Translation

D’un pas sans bruit, ne parlant que par signes et signaux, le roi lui-même encercla la montagne de filets.

Word by Word

• निःशब्दपदसञ्चारः: one whose movement/steps are noiseless
• निःशब्दपदसञ्चारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः-शब्द-पद-सञ्चार (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण; समासविग्रहः: निःशब्दः पदानां सञ्चारः यस्य सः

• संज्ञासंकेतभाषकः: speaking by signs/signals
• संज्ञासंकेतभाषकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संज्ञा-संकेत-भाषक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण; समासविग्रहः: संज्ञया संकेतं भाषते इति

• गिरिम्: the mountain
• गिरिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• संवेष्टयामास: wrapped/encircled
• संवेष्टयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+वेष्ट् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वागुराभिः: with nets/snares
• वागुराभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वागुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• स्वयम्: himself
• स्वयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/स्वतन्त्रकर्तृबोधक (emphatic: 'himself')

• नृपः: the king
• नृपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (giri-parisara)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king orchestrates a silent encirclement: men step noiselessly, communicating by gestures, while nets are drawn around a forested mountain under dim light.

Characters & Entities

• nṛpa (king)
• giri (mountain)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human strategy and control are portrayed as meticulous yet ultimately subordinate to the sacred mystery that the holy terrain is about to disclose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vastrāpathakṣetra area (with its mountain setting) in Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual injunction appears; the verse describes tactical encirclement.