Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

अथ पाटयतः काष्ठं जाता शिरसि वेदना । काष्ठभारं क्षणात्त्यक्त्वा वटशाखावलंबितः

Transliteration

atha pāṭayataḥ kāṣṭhaṃ jātā śirasi vedanā | kāṣṭhabhāraṃ kṣaṇāttyaktvā vaṭaśākhāvalaṃbitaḥ

Translation

പിന്നീട് വിറക് പിളർക്കുമ്പോൾ അവന്റെ തലയിൽ വേദന ഉയർന്നു. ഉടൻ വിറകുഭാരം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് ആൽമരത്തിന്റെ കൊമ്പിൽ ആശ്രയിച്ചു നിന്നു।

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक

• पाटयतः: while (he) was splitting/cutting
• पाटयतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पट्/पाटय् (धातु; णिच् causative)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle) from causative पाटयति; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; 'of (him) who was splitting/cutting'

• काष्ठम्: wood
• काष्ठम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• जाता: arose
• जाता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; 'arisen/occurred' (agreeing with वेदना)

• शिरसि: in the head
• शिरसि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• वेदना: pain
• वेदना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• काष्ठभारम्: the load of wood
• काष्ठभारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + भार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• क्षणात्: in a moment
• क्षणात्: Apadana (Source/limit/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; अवधी/कालार्थ (within a moment/from a moment)

• त्यक्त्वा: having dropped/abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); 'having abandoned'

• वटशाखावलंबितः: hanging from a banyan branch
• वटशाखावलंबितः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वट (प्रातिपदिक) + शाखा (प्रातिपदिक) + अवलम्बित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; अव + लम्ब् धातु)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (वटस्य शाखायाम् अवलम्बितः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (of the man)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaṭa-sthala (banyan spot) within Prabhāsa narrative frame

Type: kund/ghat/cave/peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Satyavān, mid-task, is struck by sharp head pain; he drops the wood bundle and staggers to a great banyan, gripping a low branch for support—forest light dimming as the pivotal moment arrives.

Characters & Entities

• Satyavān
• vaṭa (banyan tree)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The body’s frailty reveals the certainty of kāla; awareness of impermanence urges one toward dharma and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

While the immediate scene is a forest and a banyan tree, the narration remains within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya’s sacred frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the physical onset that precedes the climactic dharmic encounter.