Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

भगवन्डिंडि रूपेण कश्चिदस्ति तपोधनः । विध्वंसनाय दाराणां प्रविष्टः किल भिक्षितुम्

Transliteration

bhagavanḍiṃḍi rūpeṇa kaścidasti tapodhanaḥ | vidhvaṃsanāya dārāṇāṃ praviṣṭaḥ kila bhikṣitum

Translation

ಭಗವನ್! ತಪೋಧಾನನಾದ ಒಬ್ಬನು ‘ಡಿಂಡಿ’ ರೂಪವನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿ ಭಿಕ್ಷೆ ಬೇಡುವ ನೆಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಳಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ; ನಮ್ಮ ಪತ್ನಿಯರ ವಿನಾಶವೇ ಅವನ ಉದ್ದೇಶವೆಂದು ಕೇಳಿದೆವು।

Word by Word

• bhagavan: O Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• ḍiṃḍi: in (the guise of) Ḍiṃḍi
• ḍiṃḍi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ḍiṃḍi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); with 'rūpeṇa' = ‘in the form of ḍiṃḍi’

• rūpeṇa: by/with a form; in the form
• rūpeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• kaścit: someone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (indefinite pronoun/सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• asti: is/exists
• asti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• tapodhanaḥ: one whose wealth is austerity; ascetic
• tapodhanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): tapaso dhanaḥ; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• vidhvaṃsanāya: for the destruction
• vidhvaṃsanāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi-dhvaṃsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन); purpose

• dārāṇām: of (our) wives
• dārāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• praviṣṭaḥ: entered
• praviṣṭaḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-viś (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Past participle (क्त-प्रत्यय), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); finite sense ‘entered’

• kila: it is said/indeed
• kila: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kila (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle/निपात), hearsay/emphasis

• bhikṣitum: to beg
• bhikṣitum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhikṣ (धातु) + tumun (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Infinitive (तुमुन्), purpose (प्रयोजन)

Speaker

Unspecified (context suggests afflicted beings/attendants narrating to Brahmā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fierce-looking mendicant in the ‘Ḍiṃḍi’ guise approaches the sages’ dwelling to beg; sages whisper anxiously, glancing toward their wives’ quarters, suspicion and fear rising.

Characters & Entities

• Ḍiṃḍi (form)
• tapasvin (ascetic)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even seemingly pious appearances can be used to test dharma; discernment and restraint are essential in sacred spaces.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented as a powerful sacred landscape where divine tests and consequences unfold.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse frames a narrative event (a disguised entry for alms) rather than a rite.