Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

जातकार्यसमायुक्तो विद्यापारंगतोऽपि सः । केनचित्त्वथ कालेन काष्ठार्थं स बहिर्ययौ

Transliteration

jātakāryasamāyukto vidyāpāraṃgato'pi saḥ | kenacittvatha kālena kāṣṭhārthaṃ sa bahiryayau

Translation

കർതവ്യങ്ങളിൽ നിപുണനും വിദ്യയിൽ പാരംഗതനും ആയിരുന്നിട്ടും, കുറെക്കാലത്തിന് ശേഷം കാഷ്ഠം ശേഖരിക്കാൻ അവൻ പുറത്തേക്കുപോയി।

Word by Word

• jāta-kārya-samāyuktaḥ: engaged in the (assigned) duty
• jāta-kārya-samāyuktaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāta (कृदन्त) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक) + samāyukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — ‘जातेन कार्येण समायुक्तः’

• vidyā-pāraṃ-gataḥ: having reached the far shore of learning; fully learned
• vidyā-pāraṃ-gataḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidyā (प्रातिपदिक) + pāram (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — ‘विद्यायाः पारं गतः’

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

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kenacit: by some (unspecified)
• kenacit: Kāla/Hetu (Circumstance)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक (indefinite)

• tu: but; however
• tu: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/पुनरुक्ति-निवृत्ति)

• atha: then
• atha: Sequence marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/प्रसङ्ग)

• kālena: in time; after some time
• kālena: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kāṣṭha-artham: for the sake of firewood
• kāṣṭha-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kāṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् (purpose)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• bahiḥ: outside
• bahiḥ: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Place/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)

• yayau: went
• yayau: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परस्मैपद, परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Vasiṣṭha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Uttaṅka, learned yet humble, steps out of the hermitage into the forest with an axe or bundle rope, intent on gathering firewood; the hermitage recedes behind him.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Uttaṅka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the learned uphold dharma through humble service that sustains sacred life and ritual.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified; the focus is āśrama conduct within the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription, but collecting firewood implies maintaining the household/āśrama fires used for daily rites.