Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 162

Devanagari script

क्रीडमानोऽप्सरोभिस्तु तत्रोद्याने स्थितस्ततः । शुश्राव वाक्यं कन्याया गंधर्वदुहितुस्तदा

Transliteration

krīḍamāno'psarobhistu tatrodyāne sthitastataḥ | śuśrāva vākyaṃ kanyāyā gaṃdharvaduhitustadā

Translation

അപ്പോൾ അവൻ അപ്സരസ്സുകളോടൊപ്പം ക്രീഡിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ആ ഉദ്യാനത്തിൽ നിന്നിരിക്കെ, ഗന്ധർവന്റെ പുത്രിയായ ആ കന്യയുടെ വാക്കുകൾ ശ്രവിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• krīḍamānaḥ: while sporting
• krīḍamānaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √krīḍ (क्रीड्) (धातु) + शानच् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'playing/sporting'

• apsarobhiḥ: with apsarases
• apsarobhiḥ: Sahakāraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apsaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/अवधारण/विरोध) = particle ('but/indeed')

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक अव्यय) = locative adverb

• udyāne: in the garden
• udyāne: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• sthitaḥ: standing; stationed
• sthitaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (State/अवस्था)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था) (धातु) + क्त (क्तप्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'having stood/being stationed'

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/अनन्तरम्) = 'then/from there'

• śuśrāva: heard
• śuśrāva: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु) (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्सभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• vākyam: speech; words
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kanyāyāḥ: of the maiden
• kanyāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• gandharva-duhituḥ: of the Gandharva's daughter
• gandharva-duhituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandharva (प्रातिपदिक) + duhitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: गन्धर्वस्य दुहितुः

• tadā: at that time
• tadā: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = temporal adverb

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial garden in Prabhāsa: a figure stands amid flowering trees and jeweled pavilions, apsarases in playful movement; from aside, a gandharva-maiden speaks, her words catching the listener’s attention.

Characters & Entities

• apsaras
• Gandharva
• Gandharva-duhitṛ (Gandharva’s daughter)
• udyāna (garden)
• Śikhaṇḍī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Speech is consequential; in a sacred setting, arrogant words become the immediate cause for karmic correction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, depicted as a spiritually charged place where divine beings are present and moral order is enforced.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse transitions into the key moral utterance that triggers the forthcoming curse.