Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

निष्कृतिं तां परिज्ञाय समुद्रस्य रुषान्विताः । ददुः शापं महादेवि रौद्रं रौद्रवपुर्द्धराः

Transliteration

niṣkṛtiṃ tāṃ parijñāya samudrasya ruṣānvitāḥ | daduḥ śāpaṃ mahādevi raudraṃ raudravapurddharāḥ

Translation

ആ ‘നിഷ്കൃതി’ സമുദ്രത്തിന്റെ തന്നെ കൃത്യമെന്നു തിരിച്ചറിഞ്ഞ് അവർ ക്രോധം നിറഞ്ഞു; ഹേ മഹാദേവീ, രൗദ്രരൂപം ധരിച്ചു അവർ ഭീകര ശാപം നൽകി.

Word by Word

• niṣkṛtim: expiation; atonement
• niṣkṛtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niṣkṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tām: that
• tām: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (referring to niṣkṛti)

• parijñāya: having understood
• parijñāya: Purvakāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√jñā (धातु: ज्ञाने)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• samudrasya: of the ocean
• samudrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• ruṣā-anvitāḥ: filled with anger
• ruṣā-anvitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ruṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रुषया अन्विताः)

• daduḥ: they gave/uttered
• daduḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु: दाने)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• śāpam: a curse
• śāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādevī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• raudram: fierce
• raudram: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; शापस्य विशेषणम्

• raudravapuḥ-dharāḥ: those bearing a fierce form
• raudravapuḥ-dharāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raudra (प्रातिपदिक) + vapuḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (येषां वपुः रौद्रम् ते)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; discourse addressed to Mahādevī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Samudra-sannidhi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The brāhmaṇas realize the Ocean engineered the situation; they assume a raudra demeanor and pronounce a fierce curse, the air charged with tapas and indignation by the sea.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī
• Ocean (Samudra)
• Brāhmaṇas (dvija)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

False ‘atonement’ and deception in matters of dharma provoke severe karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where moral order is portrayed as powerfully enforced through divine and brāhmaṇic sanction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse mentions niṣkṛti (expiation) conceptually, but does not prescribe a specific ritual here.