Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

छेदापकस्य चार्के तु च्छेदकस्य च दैत्यज । शतं जन्मानि दारिद्यं जायते च सरोगता

Transliteration

chedāpakasya cārke tu cchedakasya ca daityaja | śataṃ janmāni dāridyaṃ jāyate ca sarogatā

Translation

ഹേ ദൈത്യപുത്രാ, അർക്ക (ആക) ചെടി മുറിപ്പിക്കുന്നവനും സ്വയം മുറിക്കുന്നവനും—ഇരുവർക്കും നൂറു ജന്മങ്ങൾ ദാരിദ്ര്യവും രോഗബാധയും ഉണ്ടാകും।

Word by Word

• छेदापकस्य: of the instigator of cutting
• छेदापकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छेद-आपक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (छेदं आपयति/प्रापयति इति—one who causes cutting)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• अर्के: with respect to Arka (the Sun)
• अर्के: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (सूर्ये/अर्कदेवे)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• छेदकस्य: of the cutter
• छेदकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छेदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• दैत्यज: O Daitya-born (O demon’s son)
• दैत्यज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य-ज (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दैत्यात् जातः)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Visheshana (Quantifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• जन्मानि: births
• जन्मानि: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal extent/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन

• दारिद्यम्: poverty
• दारिद्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारिद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• जायते: arises/is born
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• सरोगता: diseased condition
• सरोगता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स-रोगता (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रोगैः सह अवस्था)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Skanda Purāṇa narrative context within Māhātmya sections)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā/Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Arka/Sūrya plant sanctity)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two figures near a shrine-grove: one points commandingly while another raises an axe toward an Arka shrub; in the background, a symbolic wheel of rebirth shows repeated births marked by poverty and illness.

Characters & Entities

• Arka (sun-plant)
• Daitya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Harming sacred, ritually valued trees is treated as a serious adharma that yields prolonged karmic suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to Dvārakā-māhātmya, praising dharma connected with Dvārakā and its sacred practices.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implied prohibition: do not cut (or cause to be cut) the Arka plant; protect sacred vegetation.