Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

पालयामास संहृष्टो ह्यजापालस्ततोऽभवत् । तस्मिन्काले बभूवाथ रावणो राक्षसेश्वरः

Transliteration

pālayāmāsa saṃhṛṣṭo hyajāpālastato'bhavat | tasminkāle babhūvātha rāvaṇo rākṣaseśvaraḥ

Translation

അവൻ സന്തോഷത്തോടെ രാജ്യം പാലിച്ചു; അതിനാൽ ‘അജാപാലൻ’ എന്ന രക്ഷകനായി സ്ഥാപിതനായി. അതേ കാലത്തുതന്നെ രാക്ഷസേശ്വരൻ രാവണനും പ്രബലമായി ഉയർന്നു.

Word by Word

• पालयामास: protected/ruled
• पालयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पालय् (पाल् causative; धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Periphrastic Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• संहृष्टः: delighted
• संहृष्टः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-हृष् (धातु) + संहृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (अजापालः)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/Reason/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (हेतौ/निश्चये) particle

• अजापालः: protector of goats; goatherd
• अजापालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजा-पाल (प्रातिपदिक; अजा + पाल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/अनन्तरम्) adverb

• अभवत्: became
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• काले: time
• काले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• बभूव: came to be/was
• बभूव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक/प्रस्तावक) discourse particle

• रावणः: Rāvaṇa
• रावणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रावण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• राक्षसेश्वरः: lord of the rākṣasas
• राक्षसेश्वरः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; राक्षस + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Deductive (Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narration; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa continuing the Purāṇic account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ajāpāla enthroned as a joyful protector-king, with symbols of orderly rule; in the background, a shadowed figure of Rāvaṇa’s emergence hints at a looming epoch of upheaval.

Characters & Entities

• Ajāpāla
• Rāvaṇa
• Rākṣasas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames worldly sovereignty as time-bound and shifting—rulership rises and falls, while dharma remains the measure of a protector.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (the sacred Prabhāsa region), within the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa’s Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative context establishing historical actors within the Māhātmya.