Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

त्वं पुनः कुब्जरूपश्च यज्ञपूजापरायणः । न च प्राप्नोषि वृक्षाणां शाखाग्राण्यतियत्नवान्

Transliteration

tvaṃ punaḥ kubjarūpaśca yajñapūjāparāyaṇaḥ | na ca prāpnoṣi vṛkṣāṇāṃ śākhāgrāṇyatiyatnavān

Translation

“ແຕ່ເຈົ້ານັ້ນຮ່າງກາຍຄ້ອມຫຼັງ ແມ່ນຜູ້ມຸ່ງໝັ້ນໃນຍັດຍາກັມແລະການບູຊາ ແຕ່ກໍບໍ່ອາດເຖິງປາຍກິ່ງສູງຂອງຕົ້ນໄມ້ ແມ່ນແຕ່ພະຍາຍາມຫນັກກໍຕາມ”।

Word by Word

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पुनः: again, moreover
• पुनः: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: again/further)

• कुब्ज-रूपः: having a hunchbacked form
• कुब्ज-रूपः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुब्ज (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying त्वम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction: and)

• यज्ञ-पूजा-परायणः: devoted to sacrificial worship
• यज्ञ-पूजा-परायणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + पूजा (प्रातिपदिक) + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (devoted to worship in sacrifice)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वय (and/also)

• प्राप्नोषि: you obtain, reach
• प्राप्नोषि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• वृक्षाणाम्: of the trees
• वृक्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• शाखा-अग्राणि: branch-tips
• शाखा-अग्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाखा (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अति-यत्नवान्: very strenuous, making great effort
• अति-यत्नवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + यत्नवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying त्वम्)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A dvija/ṛṣi interlocutor (addressed in adjacent verses as द्विजसत्तम)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hunched devotee stands beneath sacred trees near a liṅga-shrine, stretching upward toward high branches yet unable to reach; the liṅga remains the focal point, suggesting that a small offering suffices.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Maṃkir
• Trees/branches

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes practicality: devotion is honored, yet Śiva acknowledges real limitations and guides worship accordingly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where Śiva personally addresses a devotee’s worship constraints.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pūjā using flowers from branch-tips is part of the practice; the verse highlights the devotee’s inability to procure them.