Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अभवद्भस्मसात्सद्यः पतंग इव पावकम् । हते तस्मिंस्ततो दैत्याः शेषाः पार्थिवसत्तम । भित्त्वा रसातलं जग्मुः पातालं भयसंयुताः

Transliteration

abhavadbhasmasātsadyaḥ pataṃga iva pāvakam | hate tasmiṃstato daityāḥ śeṣāḥ pārthivasattama | bhittvā rasātalaṃ jagmuḥ pātālaṃ bhayasaṃyutāḥ

Translation

അവൻ അഗ്നിയിൽ പതംഗംപോലെ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ ഭസ്മമായി. അവൻ വധിക്കപ്പെട്ടപ്പോൾ, ഹേ രാജശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, ശേഷിച്ച ദൈത്യർ ഭയാകുലരായി രസാതലം ഭേദിച്ച് പാതാളത്തിലേക്ക് ഇറങ്ങി.

Word by Word

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘became’

• bhasmasāt: to ashes
• bhasmasāt: Karma (Result/फल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhasmasāt (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = to ashes

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = immediately

• pataṃgaḥ: a moth
• pataṃgaḥ: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pataṃga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• iva: like
• iva: Upama (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमा-सूचक) = like/as

• pāvakam: fire
• pāvakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपमेय-सम्बन्धे (towards fire)

• hate: when (he) was slain
• hate: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (धातु)
• Form: हन्-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; सप्तमी, एकवचन, पुं/नपुंसक; लोके ‘हते (सति)’ = when (he) was slain

• tasmin: in him/when he
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘in him/when he’ (with hate)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय = then/thereupon

• daityāḥ: the demons
• daityāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• śeṣāḥ: remaining
• śeṣāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् = remaining

• pārthiva-sattama: O best of kings
• pārthiva-sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पार्थिवानां सत्तमः)

• bhittvā: having broken through
• bhittvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhid (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त; ‘having broken/pierced’

• rasātalam: Rasātala (nether region)
• rasātalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rasātala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; रस + अतल (तत्पुरुष)

• jagmuḥ: went
• jagmuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; ‘went’

• pātālam: Pātāla
• pātālam: Karma (Goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; गत्यर्थकर्म

• bhaya-saṃyutāḥ: filled with fear
• bhaya-saṃyutāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaya + saṃyuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; भयेन संयुताः (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Narrator (addressing a king: pārthivasattama)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda (Arbudācala)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārthiva-sattama (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A blazing divine fire consumes a demon instantly; surviving demons, terrified, split the earth and plunge into the nether realms (Rasātala/Pātāla) beneath the mountain landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Śumbha
• Devī (implied agent of destruction)
• Daityas
• Rasātala
• Pātāla
• King (listener, unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma meets sudden ruin when confronted by divine truth; fear drives the remnants of evil into hiding, while dharma is restored.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arbuda is indirectly glorified as the sacred arena where Devī’s victory becomes immediate and absolute.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse concludes the protection narrative, emphasizing the fruit of Devī-upāsanā—removal of भय (fear) through divine victory.