Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

तस्य चासन्महेष्वासाः शरैः शतसहस्रशः । न चाशक्यत वेद्धुं स सर्वभूताप्ययं सदा

Transliteration

tasya cāsanmaheṣvāsāḥ śaraiḥ śatasahasraśaḥ | na cāśakyata veddhuṃ sa sarvabhūtāpyayaṃ sadā

Translation

അവന്റെ മേൽ മഹാധനുർധരർ ശതസഹസ്രങ്ങളായി അമ്പുകൾ പ്രയോഗിച്ചു; എങ്കിലും അവനെ ഭേദിക്കാനായില്ല—അവൻ സദാ സർവ്വഭൂതങ്ങളുടെ അപ്യയ (ലയ) സ്വരൂപൻ.

Word by Word

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) = conjunction

• āsan: there were
• āsan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; √अस् = ‘to be’

• mahā-iṣvāsāḥ: great archers
• mahā-iṣvāsāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + iṣvāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् इष्वासः = great archer)

• śaraiḥ: with arrows
• śaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• śata-sahasraśaḥ: by hundreds of thousands
• śata-sahasraśaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + śas (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव (परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) = ‘by hundreds of thousands’

• na: not
• na: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अन्वय)

• aśakyata: was possible
• aśakyata: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śak (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive) = ‘was possible’

• veddhum: to pierce
• veddhum: Prayojana (Purpose/Infinitive complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vyadh (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्यय (Infinitive), अव्ययभाव; √व्यध् = ‘to pierce’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sarva-bhūta-apyayam: the dissolution of all beings
• sarva-bhūta-apyayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + apyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सर्वभूतानाम् अप्ययः = destruction/withdrawal of all beings)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (नित्यत्ववाचक) = adverb ‘always’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator in Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; traditionally Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ring of mighty archers unleashes a storm of arrows—yet the ominous figure stands untouched, embodying dissolution itself; arrows fall harmlessly like rain against a void.

Characters & Entities

• maheṣvāsa (great archer)
• śara (arrows)
• Kāla (as sarvabhūtāpyaya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

No worldly power can wound Kāla; the verse underscores vairāgya (detachment) and the need to seek what is beyond time through dharma and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra provides the sacred narrative frame; the māhātmya uses this setting to teach about destiny and spiritual urgency.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a theological statement through narrative imagery.