Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु यज्ञदानादिकाः क्रियाः । प्रणष्टा भूतले राजंस्तीर्थयात्राव्रतोद्भवाः

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle tu yajñadānādikāḥ kriyāḥ | praṇaṣṭā bhūtale rājaṃstīrthayātrāvratodbhavāḥ

Translation

അന്നേ സമയത്ത്, ഹേ രാജാവേ, ഭൂതലത്തിൽ യജ്ഞദാനാദി ക്രിയകൾ നശിച്ചു; തീർത്ഥയാത്രയും വ്രതങ്ങളും ജനിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ധർമ്മാനുഷ്ഠാനങ്ങളും ലോപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative, Singular (‘in this’)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) — emphatic particle

• काले: at the time
• काले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/अन्वय) — adversative/connecting particle

• यज्ञदानादिकाः: such as sacrifices and gifts
• यज्ञदानादिकाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यज्ञ + दान + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Plural; qualifying क्रियाः; (यज्ञं च दानं च आदिः येषाम्)

• क्रियाः: rites/acts
• क्रियाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रणष्टाः: were lost/vanished
• प्रणष्टाः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√नश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — past passive participle ‘destroyed/vanished’, agreeing with क्रियाः

• भूतले: on the earth
• भूतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Neuter, Locative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तीर्थयात्राव्रतोद्भवाः: arising from pilgrimage-vows
• तीर्थयात्राव्रतोद्भवाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ + यात्रा + व्रत + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Plural; qualifying क्रियाः; (तीर्थयात्रा-व्रत-उद्भवाः = arising from pilgrimage-vows)

Speaker

Pulastya (narrator) (deduced from nearby 'Pulastya uvāca')

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa-sattama (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate ritual landscape: abandoned yajña-vedis, extinguished sacred fires, empty ghats, pilgrims absent; the earth appears spiritually ‘dry’.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• rājan
• tīrtha
• vrata
• yajña
• dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When pilgrimage, vows, sacrifice, and charity fade, dharma weakens on earth; sacred practice is portrayed as the support of cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda (Mount Abu) sacred region is the setting within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa, framing tīrtha-yātrā as a sustaining force of dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yajña (sacrifice), dāna (charity), tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage), and vrata (vowed observance) are referenced as key religious disciplines.