Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ततो राजभयात्सर्वे नियमं तत्र चक्रिरे । नराः शासनमाज्ञाय रामस्याक्लिष्टकर्मणः

Transliteration

tato rājabhayātsarve niyamaṃ tatra cakrire | narāḥ śāsanamājñāya rāmasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ

Translation

അതിനാൽ രാജഭയത്താൽ അവിടെയുള്ള എല്ലാവരും കർശനമായ നിയമം സ്വീകരിച്ചു. അക്ലിഷ്ടകർമ്മനായ രാമന്റെ ആജ്ഞ മനസ്സിലാക്കി ജനങ്ങൾ അതനുസരിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; अर्थे ‘ततः/अनन्तरम्’

• rāja-bhayāt: from fear of the king
• rāja-bhayāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (राज्ञः भयम्)

• sarve: all (of them)
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• niyamam: a rule, restraint, observance
• niyamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb of place

• cakrire: they made/established
• cakrire: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; √कृ = ‘to do/make’

• narāḥ: men, people
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• śāsanam: command, order
• śāsanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• ājñāya: having understood/known
• ājñāya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-jñā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव; √आज्ञा/आ-√ज्ञा = ‘having known/understood’

• rāmasya: of Rama
• rāmasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• akliṣṭa-karmaṇaḥ: whose deeds are untroubled/unstained
• akliṣṭa-karmaṇaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-kliṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय (अक्लिष्टं कर्म यस्य)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator in Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; traditionally Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Citizens collectively adopt strict conduct under the king’s fear; a tableau of households observing restraint, guards enforcing order, and the king ‘Rāma’ (as named) issuing ordinance.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• rājā (king)
• niyama (observance)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through restraint (niyama) and obedience to rightful governance; collective discipline is portrayed as a stabilizing force amid ominous circumstances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, presented as a sacred arena where human conduct, law, and destiny intersect within the māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general niyama (observance/discipline) is mentioned, but no specific vrata details (snāna, dāna, japa) are enumerated in this verse.