Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

गतासुं तं विदित्वैवं विबुधास्तत्कलेवरम् मां । सशोणितनिर्मुक्तं कथं कार्यं व्यचिंतयन्

Transliteration

gatāsuṃ taṃ viditvaivaṃ vibudhāstatkalevaram māṃ | saśoṇitanirmuktaṃ kathaṃ kāryaṃ vyaciṃtayan

Translation

അവൻ ഇങ്ങനെ പ്രാണരഹിതനായെന്ന് അറിഞ്ഞ്, ദേവന്മാർ രക്തമുക്തമായ ആ ശരീരത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് ‘ഇനി എന്ത് ചെയ്യണം?’ എന്ന് ആലോചിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• गतासुम्: lifeless (whose life-breath has gone)
• गतासुम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + असु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/गत) + बहुव्रीहिः: ‘गताः असवः यस्य’ ; द्वितीया, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (तम् विशेषयति)

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

• विदित्वा: having known
• विदित्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund): ‘having known’

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘thus’

• विबुधाः: the gods
• विबुधाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विबुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘that’ (कलेवरम् विशेषयति)

• कलेवरम्: body
• कलेवरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलेवर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सशोणितनिर्मुक्तम्: freed from blood
• सशोणितनिर्मुक्तम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + शोणित + निर्मुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: (शोणितेन सह) + (शोणितात् निर्मुक्तम्) ‘freed from blood’ (कलेवरम् विशेषयति)

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/प्रश्न-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्नार्थक/interrogative adverb): ‘how?’

• कार्यम्: what should be done
• कार्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘what is to be done’

• व्यचिन्तयन्: they pondered
• व्यचिन्तयन्: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + चिन्त् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), परस्मैपदी; प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (विबुधाः—समूहवाचक; पाठभेदे ‘व्यचिन्तयन्’ बहुवचनार्थे)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa Kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within Prabhāsa-māhātmya frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devas stand around Dadhīci’s lifeless yet radiant body, now ‘bloodless’ and purified; they confer with concerned faces, while a subtle glow emanates from the bones, foreshadowing their transformation into a divine weapon.

Characters & Entities

• Vibudhas (Devas)
• Dadhīci

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A saint’s body is treated as sacred trust; dharma requires careful deliberation before acting, even for divine goals.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where the narrative underscores the sanctity of tapas and its physical traces.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, preparation for handling sacred relics (asthi) with purity; no explicit rite is detailed in this verse.