Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

आस्फोटयंति पितरः प्रहर्षंति पितामहाः । एवं तं स्वसुतं दृष्ट्वा शृण्वानं कृष्णसंभवम्

Transliteration

āsphoṭayaṃti pitaraḥ praharṣaṃti pitāmahāḥ | evaṃ taṃ svasutaṃ dṛṣṭvā śṛṇvānaṃ kṛṣṇasaṃbhavam

Translation

കൃഷ്ണസംബന്ധമായ പവിത്രാഖ്യാനം ശ്രവിക്കുന്ന സ്വന്തം വംശജനായ പുത്രനെ കണ്ടാൽ പിതൃകൾ ആനന്ദത്തോടെ കൈയടിക്കുന്നു; പിതാമഹന്മാർ പരമഹർഷത്തോടെ ഉല്ലസിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• āsphoṭayanti: clap/snaps (in joy)
• āsphoṭayanti: Kriya (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sphoṭ (स्फोट्, स्फोटने/ध्वनौ)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• pitaraḥ: the fathers/ancestors
• pitaraḥ: Karta (subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• praharṣanti: rejoice
• praharṣanti: Kriya (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√hṛṣ (हृष्, हर्षे)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• pitāmahāḥ: the grandfathers
• pitāmahāḥ: Karta (subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-visheshana (manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार-वाचक (thus/in this way)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (object of 'dṛṣṭvā')
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sva-sutam: one's own son
• sva-sutam: Karma (object of 'dṛṣṭvā')
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (स्वस्य सुतम्)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्, दर्शने)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): having seen

• śṛṇvānām: listening
• śṛṇvānām: Visheshana (of 'tam/sva-sutam')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √śru (श्रु, श्रवणे) + -āna (शानच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; वर्तमानकाले शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त (present active participle)

• kṛṣṇa-saṃbhavam: the birth/origin of Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇa-saṃbhavam: Karma (object of 'śṛṇvānām' understood: listening to the origin)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णस्य सम्भवम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Skanda Purāṇa context within Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-inquirer

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An intergenerational vision: a devotee listens to Kṛṣṇa-kathā while, in a subtle upper register, pitṛs and pitāmahas in luminous forms clap and rejoice, showering blessings; the scene blends earthly satsang with ancestral realm.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti is not only personal; hearing Kṛṣṇa-centered sacred narration is portrayed as uplifting one’s lineage and pleasing the ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā by context, as the Māhātmya situates Kṛṣṇa-kathā and its fruits within Dvārakā’s sacred field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (devotional listening) of Kṛṣṇa-related Purāṇic narrative—implicitly Bhāgavata-kathā.