Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

तदेव राज्यं ते दारास्ते गजास्तद्धनं बहु । प्रमदामदसंरक्तं यत्र संक्रीडते मनः

Transliteration

tadeva rājyaṃ te dārāste gajāstaddhanaṃ bahu | pramadāmadasaṃraktaṃ yatra saṃkrīḍate manaḥ

Translation

അവനു അതുതന്നെ ‘രാജ്യം’, അതുതന്നെ ‘ഭാര്യ’, അതുതന്നെ ‘ആനകൾ’യും ‘അപാര ധനം’യും—സ്ത്രീമോഹമദത്തിൽ രഞ്ജിതമായ മനസ് എവിടെ ക്രീഡിക്കുന്നുവോ അവിടെയാണ്.

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• rājyam: kingdom
• rājyam: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• te: your/thy
• te: Shashthi-Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dārāḥ: wives
• dārāḥ: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• te: your
• te: Shashthi-Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• gajāḥ: elephants
• gajāḥ: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dhanam: wealth
• dhanam: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• bahu: much/great
• bahu: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (धनम्)

• pramadā: of a woman
• pramadā: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• mada: of intoxication/passion
• mada: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• saṃraktam: attached/infatuated
• saṃraktam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃrakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; सम् + रञ्ज् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) विशेषणम् (मनः); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रमदामदेन संरक्तम्)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• saṃkrīḍate: plays/sports
• saṃkrīḍate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic reciter, contextually Sūta-like narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Allegorical tableau: the king’s mind is shown as a playful child or a restless bird circling the woman; royal insignia dissolve into mist, indicating how passion replaces all values.

Characters & Entities

• manaḥ (mind)
• pramadā (beloved/woman)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bondage is mental: when the mind is intoxicated by desire, it treats pleasure as the whole ‘kingdom’ and loses higher purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within the Prabhāsa Kṣetra narrative frame (Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a moral-psychological observation supporting vairāgya and dharmic clarity.