Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

व्रजद्वै व्योममार्गेण निश्चलं सहसाऽभवत् । स्तंभितं पुष्पकं दृष्ट्वा रावणो विस्मयान्वितः

Transliteration

vrajadvai vyomamārgeṇa niścalaṃ sahasā'bhavat | staṃbhitaṃ puṣpakaṃ dṛṣṭvā rāvaṇo vismayānvitaḥ

Translation

ആകാശമാർഗ്ഗത്തിലൂടെ പോകുമ്പോൾ അത് പെട്ടെന്ന് നിശ്ചലമായി. നിർത്തപ്പെട്ട പുഷ്പകത്തെ കണ്ട രാവണൻ വിസ്മയഭരിതനായി.

Word by Word

• vrajat: while moving / going
• vrajat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vraj (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्यय), परस्मैपदी; प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (क्रियाविशेषणवत्: ‘गच्छत्/चलत्’ इति)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• vyoma-mārgeṇa: by the path of the sky
• vyoma-mārgeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyoman (प्रातिपदिक) + mārga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘व्योम्नः मार्गः’); पुल्लिङ्गः, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचनम्

• niścalam: motionless
• niścalam: Karma (Object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niścala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचनम्

• sahasā: suddenly
• sahasā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्

• staṃbhitam: stopped / immobilized
• staṃbhitam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: stambh (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचनम्

• puṣpakam: the Puṣpaka (aerial car)
• puṣpakam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• rāvaṇaḥ: Rāvaṇa
• rāvaṇaḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचनम्

• vismayānvitaḥ: filled with astonishment
• vismayānvitaḥ: Kartṛ-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vismaya (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तृतीया-तत्पुरुषसदृशः/उपपदसमासः (‘विस्मयेन अन्वितः’); पुल्लिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra / Rāvaṇeśvara context

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mid-flight, the Puṣpaka-vimāna freezes among clouds; Rāvaṇa’s many faces register astonishment; below, a radiant sacred zone glows, implying an unseen Śiva-force anchoring the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Puṣpaka Vimāna
• Rāvaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a mahātmya, miraculous restraint signifies that the holy kṣetra’s divinity surpasses even imperial or supernatural force.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where the approach to Someśvara is marked by extraordinary divine intervention.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes a divine sign (the vimāna being immobilized).