Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

केयं स्त्री दृश्यतेऽत्यर्थं गीतनृत्योत्सवे रता । सोऽब्रवीच्छिवधर्मोक्ता शिवरात्रिः सुधर्मदा

Transliteration

keyaṃ strī dṛśyate'tyarthaṃ gītanṛtyotsave ratā | so'bravīcchivadharmoktā śivarātriḥ sudharmadā

Translation

ഞാൻ ചോദിച്ചു—‘ഗാനം-നൃത്തോത്സവത്തിൽ അത്യന്തം രതയായി കാണുന്ന ഈ സ്ത്രീ ആരാണ്?’ അവൻ പറഞ്ഞു—‘ഇത് ശിവധർമ്മത്തിൽ ഉപദേശിച്ച ശിവരാത്രി; സത്യധർമ്മം നൽകുന്നതാണ്।’

Word by Word

• kā: who? (which woman?)
• kā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun)

• iyam: this
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• strī: woman
• strī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• dṛśyate: is seen/appears
• dṛśyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• atyartham: exceedingly, very much
• atyartham: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atyartha (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• gīta-nṛtya-utsave: in the festival of song and dance
• gīta-nṛtya-utsave: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīta (प्रातिपदिक) + nṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + utsava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — गीते च नृत्ये च (विषय) उत्सवः

• ratā: engaged, devoted
• ratā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √ram)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle sense: engaged/delighting)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• abravīt: said
• abravīt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śiva-dharma-uktā: declared in the Śiva-dharma
• śiva-dharma-uktā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + ukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √vac)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — शिवधर्मेण उक्ता/शिवधर्मे उक्ता (as per Śiva-dharma, spoken/declared)

• śiva-rātriḥ: Śivarātri (night of Śiva)
• śiva-rātriḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + rātri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — शिवस्य रात्रिः

• su-dharma-dā: giver of good dharma
• su-dharma-dā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + dā (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √dā)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्राय) — सुदर्मं ददाति इति (giver of good dharma)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator quoting an unnamed respondent

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudreśvara at Prabhāsa (Śivarātri observance site)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munipuṅgava-s (outer audience); immediate respondent is an unnamed person at the shrine

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A question is posed about the woman’s intense participation in song-and-dance festival; an onlooker answers with doctrinal clarity: this is Śivarātri, the dharma of Śiva, giver of true righteousness.

Characters & Entities

• Śivarātri
• Śiva-dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śivarātri is upheld as a dharmic institution—devotional celebration becomes a path to righteous living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa-kṣetra shrine context (Rudreśvara) where Śivarātri is being observed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śivarātri observance, characterized here by communal devotional celebration (utsava) and vigil.