Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

महिषी प्रोच्यते भार्या सा वैधव्येऽभिचारिणी । तस्यां यः क्षपते दोषां स वै माहिषिकः स्मृतः

Transliteration

mahiṣī procyate bhāryā sā vaidhavye'bhicāriṇī | tasyāṃ yaḥ kṣapate doṣāṃ sa vai māhiṣikaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

‘മഹിഷീ’ എന്നു പറയുന്നത് വൈധവ്യത്തിലും ദുഷ്ചര്യയിൽ ഏർപ്പെടുന്ന ഭാര്യയെ; അവളുടെ ദോഷം നീക്കുന്ന (പ്രായശ്ചിത്തം ചെയ്യുന്ന)വനെയാണ് ‘മാഹിഷകൻ’ എന്നു സ്മരിക്കുന്നത്।

Word by Word

• mahiṣī: a buffalo-cow (female buffalo)
• mahiṣī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्

• procyate: is called
• procyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (धातु) [कर्मणि प्रयोगः]
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि (passive)

• bhāryā: wife
• bhāryā: Karta (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय-नाम (predicate nominative)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• vaidhavye: in widowhood
• vaidhavye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidhavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्

• abhicāriṇī: practising abhicāra (sorcery/illicit conduct)
• abhicāriṇī: Karta (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhi-cārinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘अभिचारं करोति’ इति (practising sorcery/unchaste conduct)

• tasyām: in her
• tasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः-शब्दः

• kṣapate: spends the night/consorts (with)
• kṣapate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣap (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• doṣām: the night
• doṣām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; ‘रात्रि’ अर्थे

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

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

• māhiṣikaḥ: (is) a māhiṣika
• māhiṣikaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhiṣika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• smṛtaḥ: is considered/said
• smṛtaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘इति स्मृतः’ = ‘is considered’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/householders (implied audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-figure (ācārya) explaining to a seated group the definition of ‘māhiṣaka’; symbolic vignette shows a widow in transgressive conduct (kept discreet), and a man associated with ‘removing/dealing with her fault’, while the main focus remains on instruction and moral boundary-setting.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (contextual continuity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma texts classify certain behaviors and relations as ritually obstructive; ethical restraint safeguards the efficacy of ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the setting; the teaching is presented as part of its Māhātmya, linking place-merit with proper dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed; the verse defines a category relevant to who may or may not be fit for Śrāddha-related contexts.