Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तदा स कथयामास सर्वं हरविचेष्टितम्

Transliteration

tadā sa kathayāmāsa sarvaṃ haraviceṣṭitam

Translation

तब उसने हर (शिव) के समस्त आचरण का यथावत् वर्णन किया।

Word by Word

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then/at that time)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• कथयामास: told/related
• कथयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; causative stem कथय- — Perfect 3rd sg (he related/told)

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Accusative singular (everything)

• हर-विचेष्टितम्: Hara’s conduct/deeds
• हर-विचेष्टितम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक) + विचेष्टित (कृदन्त; वि+चेष्ट् धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हरस्य विचेष्टितम्) — Accusative singular (the deed/behavior of Hara)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sage, composed after vision, speaks to others, recounting Śiva’s actions in full; listeners lean in, the atmosphere shifts from suspicion to informed understanding.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada (implied)
• Hara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truth is clarified through right testimony—sages serve as revealers who prevent misunderstanding and restore dharmic clarity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda narrative landscape is upheld as a sacred theater where divine acts are witnessed and transmitted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a narrative transition to the ensuing response.