Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

यस्मात्पापमते क्रूरं त्वया वै वञ्चिता वयम् । मांसस्य भक्षणात्तस्मादपेयस्त्वं भविष्यसि

Transliteration

yasmātpāpamate krūraṃ tvayā vai vañcitā vayam | māṃsasya bhakṣaṇāttasmādapeyastvaṃ bhaviṣyasi

Translation

ഹേ പാപബുദ്ധിയുള്ള ക്രൂരനേ! നീ ഞങ്ങളെ സത്യമായും വഞ്ചിച്ചു; അതിനാൽ മാംസഭക്ഷണദോഷം മൂലം നീ ‘അപേയൻ’ ആകും—നിന്റെ ജലം കുടിക്കാനാകാത്തതാകും।

Word by Word

• yasmāt: because
• yasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘because’

• pāpa-mate: O evil-minded one
• pāpa-mate: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + mati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारयभावे): ‘पापा मतिः यस्य’/‘पापविषया मतिः’; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/8th), एकवचन; (हे) पापमते

• krūram: O cruel one
• krūram: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (addressing): ‘O cruel one’

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karaṇa/Kartṛ (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), निश्चयार्थ

• vañcitāḥ: deceived
• vañcitāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vañc (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• vayam: we
• vayam: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• māṃsasya: of meat
• māṃsasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• bhakṣaṇāt: from eating
• bhakṣaṇāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √bhakṣ (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Therefore)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘therefore/from that’

• apeyaḥ: not fit to be drunk
• apeyaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- + peya (प्रातिपदिक; √pā (धातु) ‘to drink’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निषेध ‘a-’: ‘not drinkable/untouchable to drink’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhaviṣyasi: will become
• bhaviṣyasi: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (issuing the curse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (specific jalāśaya implied)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer, unspecified

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A condemning figure or collective pronouncing a curse upon a water-source, declaring it ‘apeya’; the water darkens symbolically while the sacred coast remains visible.

Characters & Entities

• Ocean (Samudra)
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Deceit that leads others into adharma results in a lasting loss of purity and social-spiritual acceptance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the sanctity of waters and the ethics of pilgrimage conduct are highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly concerns water-use norms: the curse renders the ocean’s water ‘apeya’ (not for drinking).