Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सर्वास्तासां सदा सांबे भावो देव समाश्रितः । रूपेणाप्रतिमः सांबो लोकेऽस्मिन्सचराचरे

Transliteration

sarvāstāsāṃ sadā sāṃbe bhāvo deva samāśritaḥ | rūpeṇāpratimaḥ sāṃbo loke'sminsacarācare

Translation

ഹേ ദേവാ! അവരൊക്കെയുടെയും സ്നേഹം നിത്യവും സാംബനിലേക്കാണ് ആശ്രിതം. ഈ ചരാചര ലോകത്തിൽ രൂപത്തിൽ സാംബന് സമം ആരുമില്ല.

Word by Word

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (qualifier)

• tāsām: of those (women)
• tāsām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• sāṃbe: in/with Sāmba
• sāṃbe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāṃba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhāvaḥ: feeling; devotion; disposition
• bhāvaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• deva: O god
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• samāśritaḥ: resorted to; taken refuge in
• samāśritaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective to subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-śri (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘भāvaḥ’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• rūpeṇa: by form; in appearance
• rūpeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• apratimaḥ: incomparable
• apratimaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-pratima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘sāṃbaḥ’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• sāṃbaḥ: Sāmba
• sāṃbaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāṃba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• sacara-acare: with the moving and the unmoving (all beings)
• sacara-acare: Adhikaraṇa (Qualifier of location/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa-cara + a-cara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘loke asmin’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant, exceptionally handsome Sāmba stands adorned, drawing the gaze of many virtuous women; their expressions show admiration and attachment, while the atmosphere hints at moral peril beneath the beauty.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Sāmba

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly attraction—especially to beauty—can dominate the mind; dharma requires discernment beyond mere form.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader glorification is of Prabhāsakṣetra; this verse itself is character-narrative within that sacred-geography frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes a social and psychological condition (attachment).