Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

यस्मात्त्वं नग्नतामेत्य आश्रमेऽस्मिन्ममागतः । मोहयानः स्त्रियोऽस्माकं लज्जां नैवं करोषि च । तस्मात्ते पतताल्लिंगं सद्य एव वृषध्वज

Transliteration

yasmāttvaṃ nagnatāmetya āśrame'sminmamāgataḥ | mohayānaḥ striyo'smākaṃ lajjāṃ naivaṃ karoṣi ca | tasmātte patatālliṃgaṃ sadya eva vṛṣadhvaja

Translation

「汝は裸身のままこの我が庵に来たり、我らの女たちを迷わせ、礼節と慎みを守らぬ。ゆえに、牛を旗印とする者よ、汝のリンガよ、ただちに落ちよ！」

Word by Word

• yasmāt: because (from which reason)
• yasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बन्धाव्यय (relative adverbial), Ablative sense 'from which/because' (यत्-शब्दस्य पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययीभावप्रयोगः)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग (pronoun), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• nagnatām: nakedness
• nagnatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagnatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः लक्ष्य/अवस्था

• etya: having come/attained
• etya: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: i (इ धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), 'having gone/attained'

• āśrame: in the hermitage
• āśrame: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to āśrame)

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• āgataḥ: has come
• āgataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः (agreeing with tvam)

• mohayānaḥ: deluding
• mohayānaḥ: Karta (Agent participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mohaya (मोहय् causative from √muh) (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'causing delusion'

• striyaḥ: women
• striyaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन

• asmākam: of us/our
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध

• lajjām: modesty/shame
• lajjām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lajjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (निपात)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• evam: thus/in this way
• evam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: रीति/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (manner adverb)

• karoṣi: you do
• karoṣi: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Phala (Cause-result connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात्-इति हेत्वर्थे अव्ययप्रयोगः (therefore/from that)

• te: for you/to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th case), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान (dative)

• patatāt: let (it) fall
• patatāt: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pat (पत् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative/benedictive sense), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आज्ञा/शापार्थक प्रयोगः

• liṅgam: phallus/linga
• liṅgam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र कर्तृरूपे (patatāt इत्यस्य कर्ता)

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Kriya-viseshana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (time adverb)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Avadharana (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis/only)

• vṛṣadhvaja: O bull-bannered one (Śiva)
• vṛṣadhvaja: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣa + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः 'वृषः ध्वजः यस्य' (epithet of Śiva)

Speaker

Maharṣis (collectively) (as quoted within Śiva’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A chief sage steps forward, pointing in accusation; his mouth open mid-curse. Śiva stands unclothed/ascetic (suggested modestly in art), serene yet terrible. Women avert faces in shame; the air thick with moral outrage and impending catastrophe.

Characters & Entities

• Maharṣis
• Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva)
• Women of the hermitage

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Judging the divine by social appearance can lead to grave reactions; the episode sets up a deeper revelation of Śiva-tattva and the limits of mere external morality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, this dramatic curse becomes part of the sacred narrative that sanctifies the region and its Śaiva memory.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse contains a śāpa (curse) that triggers the ensuing cosmic disturbance and theological explanation.