Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

उपालब्धोऽस्मि तैः सर्वैस्तव कर्मभिरीदृशैः । दारुणे नरके प्राप्ता अधर्मादिविचेष्टितैः

Transliteration

upālabdho'smi taiḥ sarvaistava karmabhirīdṛśaiḥ | dāruṇe narake prāptā adharmādiviceṣṭitaiḥ

Translation

നിന്റെ ഇത്തരത്തിലുള്ള കർമങ്ങൾ കാരണം അവർ എല്ലാവരും എന്നെ ശാസിച്ചു. അധർമ്മജന്യ ദുഷ്കൃത്യങ്ങളാൽ അവർ ഭയങ്കര നരകത്തിൽ എത്തിപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• upālabdhaḥ: reproached
• upālabdhaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upa + ā + labh (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (उपालब्धः = reproached)

• asmi: am
• asmi: Kriyā (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• taiḥ: by them
• taiḥ: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• sarvaiḥ: by all
• sarvaiḥ: Karta (Agent-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• karmabhiḥ: by (your) deeds
• karmabhiḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• īdṛśaiḥ: such (as these)
• īdṛśaiḥ: Hetu (Cause-qualifier/हेतुविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• dāruṇe: terrible
• dāruṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Locus-qualifier/अधिकरणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• prāptāḥ: have reached
• prāptāḥ: Karta (Subject predicate/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; (ते ... प्राप्ताः)

• adharma-ādi-viceṣṭitaiḥ: by acts such as unrighteousness
• adharma-ādi-viceṣṭitaiḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adharma (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक; vi + ceṣṭ (धातु) + kta)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative): अधर्मादि-विषये/अधर्मादि-रूपैः विचेष्टितैः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

Speaker

Rājā (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king recounts being reproached by ancestors; behind them, a symbolic glimpse of a dreadful hell—dark flames, iron-like landscape—contrasted with the palace’s fragile safety.

Characters & Entities

• Rājā (king)
• Pitaraḥ (ancestors)
• Naraka (hell)
• Adharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma is not merely personal; it damages one’s lineage and brings suffering—hence the urgency of repentance and reform.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No rite is specified here; it diagnoses the cause (adharmic conduct) that must be countered by śubha-karman.