Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

अथ शापाद्बिभीतेन सहस्राक्षेण धीमता । दृष्टा गोपालकन्यैका रूपयौवनशालिनी

Transliteration

atha śāpādbibhītena sahasrākṣeṇa dhīmatā | dṛṣṭā gopālakanyaikā rūpayauvanaśālinī

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ശാപഭീതിയാൽ വിറച്ച ധീമാനായ സഹസ്രാക്ഷൻ (ഇന്ദ്രൻ) രൂപവും യൗവനവും തിളങ്ങുന്ന ഒരു ഗോപാലകന്യയെ കണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/सम्बन्धसूचक (particle: 'then/now')

• śāpāt: from the curse; due to the curse
• śāpāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• bibhītena: by the frightened (one)
• bibhītena: Kartr-sahabhava (Agent in instrumental/कर्ता-निर्देश)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bibhīta (प्रातिपदिक; √bhī (धातु) से क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण

• sahasrākṣeṇa: by Sahasrākṣa (Indra)
• sahasrākṣeṇa: Kartr-sahabhava (Agent in instrumental/कर्ता-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra-akṣa (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (Bahuvrīhi: सहस्रम् अक्षाणि यस्य = 'thousand-eyed'); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• dhīmatā: wise; intelligent
• dhīmatā: Kartr-sahabhava (Agent-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhīmat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• dṛṣṭā: was seen
• dṛṣṭā: Kriya (Passive predicate/कर्मणि-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• gopāla-kanyā-ekā: one cowherd girl
• gopāla-kanyā-ekā: Karta (Subject of passive 'dṛṣṭā'/कर्मणि-कर्तृस्थानीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopāla + kanyā + ekā (प्रातिपदिक-त्रय)
• Form: समास/समाहार-प्रयोग: गोपालकन्या (तत्पुरुष: गोपालस्य कन्या) + एका (विशेषण); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• rūpa-yauvana-śālinī: possessing beauty and youth
• rūpa-yauvana-śālinī: Visheshana (Qualifier of gopāla-kanyā/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rūpa + yauvana + śālinī (प्रातिपदिक-त्रय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (Tatpuruṣa: रूपेण यौवनेन च शालिनी = possessing beauty and youth); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, anxious under a curse, notices a single cowherd maiden of striking beauty and youth—an auspicious find amid pastoral simplicity.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Sahasrākṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the mighty are bound by karma; humility and fear of adharma prepare one for restoration through dharmic action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where divine destinies converge and the conditions for expiation and merit arise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse sets up the dharmic remedy that will unfold through yajña and proper consecration.