Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

शिथिलो गुरुकृत्येषु स यदालक्षितो मया । तस्या वाक्यावसाने तु उत्तंकः पर्य्यदृश्यत

Transliteration

śithilo gurukṛtyeṣu sa yadālakṣito mayā | tasyā vākyāvasāne tu uttaṃkaḥ paryyadṛśyata

Translation

तो गुरुकर्तव्यांत शिथिल झाला आहे असे मला दिसताच, तिचे वाक्य संपताच उत्तंक दिसून आला.

Word by Word

• śithilaḥ: relaxed, slack
• śithilaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śithila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective)

• guru-kṛtyeṣu: in the duties to the teacher
• guru-kṛtyeṣu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛtya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गुरोः कृत्यानि)

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

• yadā: when
• yadā: Sambandha (Temporal relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• alakṣitaḥ: noticed, observed
• alakṣitaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lakṣ (धातु) + ta (क्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग-सामर्थ्य

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vākya-avasāne: at the end of (her) speech
• vākya-avasāne: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक) + avasāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वाक्यस्य अवसाने)

• tu: but, then
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• uttaṃkaḥ: Uttaṅka
• uttaṃkaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttaṃka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम

• pary-adṛśyata: was seen, appeared
• pary-adṛśyata: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + ya (यक्, कर्मणि) + laṅ (लकारः)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect, past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gautama-āśrama

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ahalyā notes Uttaṅka’s laxity in guru-duties; at the very end of her words, Uttaṅka appears—dramatic timing that averts immediate fallout.

Characters & Entities

• Uttaṅka
• Guru (implicit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Service to the guru (gurusevā) is central; laxity in it is a moral fault that must be corrected immediately.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

No explicit tīrtha is named; the verse advances the Arbuda Khaṇḍa story that undergirds the region’s sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is ethical—faithful performance of guru-duties.