Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

ललितोवाच । असत्यो भिन्नमर्य्यादः क्रूरः क्रूरजनप्रियः । त्वं मा कृथा नः पुरतः कथां तस्याऽकृतात्मनः

Transliteration

lalitovāca | asatyo bhinnamaryyādaḥ krūraḥ krūrajanapriyaḥ | tvaṃ mā kṛthā naḥ purataḥ kathāṃ tasyā'kṛtātmanaḥ

Translation

ललिता बोली—वह असत्य है, मर्यादा-भंग करने वाला है; क्रूर है और क्रूरों का प्रिय है। उस अकृतात्मा की कथा हमारे सामने मत कहो।

Word by Word

• lalitā: Lalitā
• lalitā: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lalitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (वक्ता)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• asatyaḥ: untruthful
• asatyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• bhinna-maryādaḥ: one whose bounds/decency are broken
• bhinna-maryādaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhinna (कृदन्त, √bhid ‘to break’) + maryādā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (भिन्ना मर्यादा यस्य)

• krūraḥ: cruel
• krūraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• krūra-jana-priyaḥ: dear to cruel people
• krūra-jana-priyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक) + jana (प्रातिपदिक) + priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (क्रूरजनस्य प्रियः)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mā: do not
• mā: Negation (prohibition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (prohibitive particle)

• kṛthāḥ: do (make)
• kṛthāḥ: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; निषेध ‘माऽ’ सह—‘do not do/make’

• naḥ: for us / of us
• naḥ: Sampradāna/Sambandha (for us/of us)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (Genitive/Dative), बहुवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूप

• purataḥ: in front (of), before
• purataḥ: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Place adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puratas (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• kathām: talk, mention, story
• kathām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• akṛta-ātmanaḥ: of that unrestrained/undisciplined one
• akṛta-ātmanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘tasya’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-kṛta (कृदन्त, √kṛ ‘to do’, negated) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अकृतः आत्मा यस्य)

Speaker

Lalitā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā/Dvāravatī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Lalitā, face flushed, points or gestures sharply while addressing Uddhava, forbidding mention of the ‘akṛtātmā’; surrounding women show mixed fear and solidarity.

Characters & Entities

• Lalitā
• Uddhava
• Kṛṣṇa (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In intimate devotion, even reproach can arise from love; the Purāṇic tradition recognizes complex devotional moods.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, as the māhātmya context anchoring the episode within sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a dialogue expressing emotional theology rather than ritual law.