Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 189

Devanagari script

अग्निष्टोमादिकाः सर्वाः क्रिया नष्टा धरातले । धर्मक्रियास्तथा चान्या मुक्त्वा देव्याः प्रपूजनम्

Transliteration

agniṣṭomādikāḥ sarvāḥ kriyā naṣṭā dharātale | dharmakriyāstathā cānyā muktvā devyāḥ prapūjanam

Translation

അഗ്നിഷ്ടോമാദിയായ എല്ലാ യാഗക്രിയകളും ഭൂമിയിൽ നിന്നു ലോപിച്ചു; മറ്റു ധർമ്മകർമ്മങ്ങളും അപ്രത്യക്ഷമായി; ദേവിയുടെ ഭക്തിപൂർവ്വക പൂജ മാത്രം ശേഷിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• अग्निष्टोमादिकाः: such as the Agniṣṭoma (rites)
• अग्निष्टोमादिकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अग्निष्टोम + आदि + क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (कर्म/क्रिया-विशेषण); ‘अग्निष्टोम-आदि’ इति तत्पुरुष (समाहारार्थ) + ‘-क’ तद्धित

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of क्रियाः)

• क्रियाः: ritual acts/rites
• क्रियाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नष्टाः: were lost/ceased
• नष्टाः: Kriya (State)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘नष्ट’ = destroyed/ceased

• धरातले: on the earth’s surface
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘धरायाः तलम्’

• धर्मक्रियाः: religious duties/rites
• धर्मक्रियाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘धर्मस्य क्रिया’

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/सादृश्यवाचक (likewise/also)

• च: and
• च: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• अन्याः: other
• अन्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of क्रियाः)

• मुक्त्वा: excepting/leaving aside
• मुक्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya / Exclusion marker
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund), परिहारार्थे (excepting/leaving aside)

• देव्याः: of the goddess
• देव्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• प्रपूजनम्: worship (proper worship)
• प्रपूजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र-पूज् (धातु) → प्रपूजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मरूपे (object of मुक्त्वा)

Speaker

Pulastya (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Caṇḍikā-āyatana (implied)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king) (explicitly addressed in the surrounding verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate sacrificial ground with extinguished fires and abandoned altars; in contrast, a radiant Devī shrine where lamps still burn and devotees gather, suggesting the survival of worship amid ritual collapse.

Characters & Entities

• Agniṣṭoma
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When formal ritual declines, heartfelt devotion—especially worship of the Goddess—remains a sustaining form of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda-khaṇḍa Devī-sthāna whose worship endures and is singled out as exceptional.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Devyāḥ prapūjanam—earnest, complete worship of the Goddess.