Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 160

Devanagari script

युक्तं कृतं महेशानि यद्धतः पापकृत्तमः । त्रैलोक्यं सकलं ध्वस्तं पापेनानेन सुंदरि

Transliteration

yuktaṃ kṛtaṃ maheśāni yaddhataḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ | trailokyaṃ sakalaṃ dhvastaṃ pāpenānena suṃdari

Translation

ഹേ മഹേശാനീ! ഈ മഹാപാപിയുടെ വധം യുക്തമായതുതന്നെ. ഹേ സുന്ദരി! അവന്റെ പാപം മൂലം സമസ്ത ത്രൈലോക്യവും നാശത്തിലേക്ക് നീങ്ങുകയായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• yuktam: proper, fitting
• yuktam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √yuj)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे प्रयोगः (‘it is proper’)

• kṛtam: done
• kṛtam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √kṛ)
• Form: क्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे (‘done’)

• maheśāni: O Maheśānī (consort of Maheśa)
• maheśāni: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśānī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• yat: that (the fact that)
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• hataḥ: (he) was slain
• hataḥ: Kriya (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √han)
• Form: क्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (he) ‘slain’

• pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ: the greatest sinner, worst evildoer
• pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √kṛ) + tama (प्रत्यय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘doer of sin’), तदन्त-तमप् (superlative: ‘most’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• trailokyam: the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (Affected entity/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (‘three worlds’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sakalam: entire, whole
• sakalam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying trailokya)

• dhvastam: destroyed, ruined
• dhvastam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhvasta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √dhvaṃs ‘to perish/be destroyed’)
• Form: क्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेयविशेषण

• pāpena: by sin, due to sin
• pāpena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• anena: by this (one/this act)
• anena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (instrumental: ‘by this’)

• sundari: O beautiful one
• sundari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sundarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Deva-gaṇas (the gods, collectively praising Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (Devī-rakṣā-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas address Maheśānī after the defeat of a great sinner; the atmosphere shifts from battle-tension to relief; the three worlds symbolically steadied—clouds part, light returns.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśānī (Devī)
• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Removing the gravely sinful is an act of compassion for the worlds; divine punishment is framed as restoration of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arbuda/Varaparvata, where the Goddess’s act is remembered as world-protecting and therefore place-sanctifying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; it is theological praise explaining why the divine act was necessary.