Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

निर्वेदेकोऽस्य हृदये धनक्षेत्रादिसंभवः । गृहीतं यदनेनाद्य बालेनापि महाव्रतम् । रक्ताक्षं काककृष्णांगं सत्वरं किं न पश्यथि

Transliteration

nirvedeko'sya hṛdaye dhanakṣetrādisaṃbhavaḥ | gṛhītaṃ yadanenādya bālenāpi mahāvratam | raktākṣaṃ kākakṛṣṇāṃgaṃ satvaraṃ kiṃ na paśyathi

Translation

“Di dalam hatinya hanya ada kejenuhan duniawi yang lahir dari harta, ladang, dan sejenisnya. Namun hari ini ia mengambil ‘mahāvrata’ bagaikan anak kecil. Mengapa kalian tidak segera melihat wujud sejatinya: bermata merah, bertubuh hitam laksana gagak?”

Word by Word

• nirvedaḥ: disgust, dispassion
• nirvedaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirveda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ekaḥ: alone, only
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (nirvedaḥ)

• asya: of him/this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• hṛdaye: in (the) heart
• hṛdaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• dhanakṣetrādi-saṃbhavaḥ: arising from wealth, land, etc.
• dhanakṣetrādi-saṃbhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोग) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (nirvedaḥ); समासः—धनक्षेत्रादि-सम्भवः (तत्पुरुषः, ‘धन-क्षेत्र-आदि’ इत्यस्मात् सम्भवः)

• gṛhītam: taken up, undertaken
• gṛhītam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √grah (ग्रह्, धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः; विशेषण (mahāvratam)

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• anena: by him/with this
• anena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• bālena: by a boy/child
• bālena: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• mahāvratam: a great vow
• mahāvratam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—महाव्रतम् (कर्मधारयः: ‘महच्च तत् व्रतम्’)

• raktākṣam: red-eyed
• raktākṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (कस्यचित्/इमाम् इत्यादि संदर्भे); समासः—रक्ताक्षम् (कर्मधारयः: ‘रक्ते अक्षिणी यस्य’)

• kākakṛṣṇāṅgam: having limbs black like a crow
• kākakṛṣṇāṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāka (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—काककृष्णाङ्गम् (तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारय-प्रायः: ‘काकवत् कृष्णम् अङ्गं यस्य’)

• satvaram: quickly, hastily
• satvaram: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satvara (अव्यय-प्रयोग/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: quickly)

• kim: what?/why?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• paśyatha: you (all) see/look
• paśyatha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; आज्ञार्थ-प्रयोग (imperative sense)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Sūta’s recitation in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A figure claiming a great vow is unmasked: red eyes, crow-black limbs, the aura of a hidden demon beneath a superficial ascetic pose; witnesses react with alarm.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True dharma requires inner transformation; vows taken without purity become hypocrisy and lead to ruin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, highlighting Prabhāsa as a dharma-revealing sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A ‘mahāvrata’ is mentioned, but in a critical tone—implying that mere adoption of a vow is not meritorious without sincerity.