Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

महिषासुर उवाच । क्वचिद्दृष्टं त्वया किञ्चिदाश्चर्यं भूतले मुने । दैवं वा मानुषं वापि दानवा लंभिता विभो

Transliteration

mahiṣāsura uvāca | kvaciddṛṣṭaṃ tvayā kiñcidāścaryaṃ bhūtale mune | daivaṃ vā mānuṣaṃ vāpi dānavā laṃbhitā vibho

Translation

મહિષાસુરે કહ્યું—હે મુને! ભૂતલ પર ક્યાંય કોઈ આશ્ચર્ય તું જોયું છે શું—દૈવી કે માનુષ—જેનાથી દાનવો પણ વટાવી દેવામાં આવ્યા હોય, હે વિભો?

Word by Word

• mahiṣāsuraḥ: Mahiṣāsura
• mahiṣāsuraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + asura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘महिषः असुरः’ (name/title)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kvacit: ever/anywhere
• kvacit: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देश/काल-अनिश्चित/Indefinite adverb): “anywhere/ever”

• dṛṣṭam: seen
• dṛṣṭam: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; “seen” (impersonal: ‘has it been seen?’)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम: “by you”

• kiñcit: anything
• kiñcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रश्न/indefinite: “something/anything”

• āścaryam: a wonder
• āścaryam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āścarya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• bhūtale: on the earth
• bhūtale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; “on the earth”

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

• daivam: divine
• daivam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (for āścaryam): “divine”

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प/Disjunctive particle): “or”

• mānuṣam: human
• mānuṣam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण: “human”

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प): “or”

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अवधारण/particle): here = “also/even”

• dānavāḥ: O Dānavas
• dānavāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रथमा-बहुवचन (O Dānavas)

• laṃbhitāḥ: obtained
• laṃbhitāḥ: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (लभ्) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “obtained/attained” (addressed group)

• vibho: O mighty one
• vibho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Mahiṣāsura

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahiṣāsura, regal and imposing, leans forward questioning Nārada: has any marvel been seen on earth—divine or human—that surpasses the Dānavas?

Characters & Entities

• Mahiṣāsura
• Nārada
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Curiosity mixed with pride seeks comparison; Purāṇas often use such questions to reveal higher truths beyond arrogance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is identified in this verse; it sets up a marvel-description to follow.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a question initiating a narrative about extraordinary phenomena.