Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

संस्कृत्य भोजयेत्तत्र विप्रान्स च जिघांसति । समा ह्वयति तं वाचा गतं चैव ततः क्षयम्

Transliteration

saṃskṛtya bhojayettatra viprānsa ca jighāṃsati | samā hvayati taṃ vācā gataṃ caiva tataḥ kṣayam

Translation

അവിടെ അവൻ (ഭോജ്യം) സംസ്കരിച്ചു വിപ്രന്മാർക്ക് ഭോജനം കൊടുക്കുമായിരുന്നു; എന്നാൽ മനസ്സിൽ അവരെ കൊല്ലുവാൻ ഉദ്ദേശിക്കും. പിന്നെ വാക്കുകൊണ്ട് അവനെ വിളിക്കും; അവൻ അതിനുശേഷം നാശത്തിലേക്ക് പോകും.

Word by Word

• संस्कृत्य: having prepared (it)
• संस्कृत्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त; ‘having prepared/seasoned (food)’

• भोजयेत्: would feed
• भोजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (धातु) [णिच्]
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative) ‘cause to eat/feed’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• विप्रान्: Brahmins
• विप्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

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

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• जिघांसति: desires to kill
• जिघांसति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हन् (धातु) [सन्]
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; सन्नन्त-रूपम् (desiderative) ‘wishes to kill’

• समाः: years
• समाः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘समाः’ = years

• ह्वयति: calls
• ह्वयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ह्वे/√ह्वा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘calls/invokes’

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वाचा: by (his) voice; with words
• वाचा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; करणम्

• गतम्: gone (to)
• गतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘gone/reached’ (tam understood)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक-निपात

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• ततः: then; from there
• ततः: Apadana/Sequence (Source/Then)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अपादानार्थक-अव्यय (from there/then)

• क्षयम्: destruction; death
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A deceptive feast scene: brāhmaṇas seated to eat; a ram (Vātāpi) as the cooked offering motif implied; Ilvala/Vātāpi’s accomplice posture sinister; the calling-back spell-like utterance hangs in the air as a dark ripple.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas (Vipras)
• Vātāpi
• Ilvala (implied by the calling back motif)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual acts without dharma become hypocrisy; feeding the righteous while plotting harm is portrayed as grave adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The actions occur within Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s narrative frame, reinforcing the tīrtha’s role as the stage where dharma and adharma are exposed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feeding brāhmaṇas (vipra-bhojana) appears as an act, but here it is misused; the text implicitly upholds the sanctity of true, dharmic hospitality.