Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

कः क्षत्रियो मन्यमानः सुप्तान्हन्यान्मृतानिव । न तन्मृष्यत हार्दिक्यस्त्वया तत्साधु यत्कृतम्

Transliteration

kaḥ kṣatriyo manyamānaḥ suptānhanyānmṛtāniva | na tanmṛṣyata hārdikyastvayā tatsādhu yatkṛtam

Translation

‘ತನ್ನನ್ನು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯನೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿ ನಿದ್ರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವವರನ್ನು ಮೃತರಂತೆ ಕಂಡು ಯಾರು ಕೊಲ್ಲುವನು? ಹಾರ್ದಿಕ್ಯ, ನೀನು ಮಾಡಿದದ್ದು ಸಹಿಸಲಾಗದು; ಅದು ಧರ್ಮ್ಯವೂ ಅಲ್ಲ।’

Word by Word

• kaḥ: who?
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• kṣatriyaḥ: a kshatriya (warrior)
• kṣatriyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• manyamānaḥ: thinking/considering (himself)
• manyamānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: man (धातु) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present participle, आत्मनेपद-भाव), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्वयं मन्यते’

• suptān: sleeping (men)
• suptān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: supta (कृदन्त; √svap धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; ‘सुप्त’ = sleeping ones

• hanyāt: should kill
• hanyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mṛtān: dead (men)
• mṛtān: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त; √mṛ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; ‘मृत’ = dead ones

• iva: like/as if
• iva: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

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

• tat: that (act)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mṛṣyata: tolerated/endured
• mṛṣyata: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘अमृष्यत’ इत्यर्थे (did not tolerate)

• hārdikyaḥ: O Hārdikya (Kṛtavarmā)
• hārdikyaḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hārdikya (प्रातिपदिक; व्यक्तिनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संबोधनार्थे नाम

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; 2nd person pronoun

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र कर्म/विषयार्थे

• sādhu: well/rightly
• sādhu: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sādhu (अव्यय/विशेषण-प्रयोग)
• Form: प्रशंसावाचक-अव्यय (approving particle)

• yat: which (that)
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक यत्-शब्द

• kṛtam: done
• kṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sātyaki delivers a cutting ethical rebuke to Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman), condemning the killing of sleeping men; faces in the assembly register shock, approval, and brewing rage.

Characters & Entities

• Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki)
• Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman)
• Kṣatriya-dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes ethical limits even in warfare—cowardly violence against the helpless is condemned.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the setting where dharma is debated and violated, reinforcing the tīrtha’s moral framing.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual; it is a dhārmic judgment about proper kṣatriya conduct.