Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

न तं विसर्जयामास जरयापि परिप्लुतम् । उत्तंकोऽपि सुशिष्यत्वान्नो वेत्ति पलितं शिरः

Transliteration

na taṃ visarjayāmāsa jarayāpi pariplutam | uttaṃko'pi suśiṣyatvānno vetti palitaṃ śiraḥ

Translation

ವೃದ್ಧಾಪ್ಯದಿಂದ ಆವರಿತನಾದರೂ ಅವನನ್ನು ಅವರು ವಿಸರ್ಜಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ; ಉತ್ತಂಕನೂ ಸುಶಿಷ್ಯತ್ವದಿಂದ ಗುರುಶಿರಸ್ಸಿನ ಪಲಿತಕೇಶವನ್ನೂ ಗಮನಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ।

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (सर्वनाम)

• visarjayāmāsa: sent away; dismissed
• visarjayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√sṛj (धातु) + causative (णिच्) visarjaya + √as (धातु) periphrastic perfect
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परस्मैपद, परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

• jarayā: by old age
• jarayā: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अपि-कार, ‘even’)

• pariplutam: overwhelmed; afflicted
• pariplutam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-√plu (धातु) → paripluta (कृदन्त, भूतकर्मणि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle)

• uttaṃkaḥ: Uttaṅka
• uttaṃkaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttaṃka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/‘also’)

• su-śiṣyatvāt: because of being a good disciple
• su-śiṣyatvāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + śiṣyatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष/उपपद) — ‘सुशिष्यस्य भावः’

• na: not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध)

• vetti: knows; notices
• vetti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (परस्मैपद, वर्तमान/Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• palitam: grey; hoary
• palitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: palita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Vasiṣṭha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a forest hermitage: an aged guru with greying hair, serene and absorbed; Uttaṅka stands attentive, youthful, hands folded, unaware of the guru’s aging; quiet austerity of āśrama life.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Uttaṅka
• Gautama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True service is steady and self-forgetful, not calculated by time, reward, or changing circumstances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None directly; this verse is ethical narrative groundwork rather than explicit tīrtha praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the ‘practice’ implied is continuous guru-sevā.