Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

महिषासुर उवाच । क्वचिद्दृष्टं त्वया किञ्चिदाश्चर्यं भूतले मुने । दैवं वा मानुषं वापि दानवा लंभिता विभो

Transliteration

mahiṣāsura uvāca | kvaciddṛṣṭaṃ tvayā kiñcidāścaryaṃ bhūtale mune | daivaṃ vā mānuṣaṃ vāpi dānavā laṃbhitā vibho

Translation

महिषासुर म्हणाला—हे मुने! पृथ्वीवर कुठे काही अद्भुत तू पाहिले आहेस काय—दैवी किंवा मानुष—ज्यामुळे दानवांनाही मागे टाकले गेले, हे विभो?

Word by Word

• mahiṣāsuraḥ: Mahiṣāsura
• mahiṣāsuraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + asura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘महिषः असुरः’ (name/title)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kvacit: ever/anywhere
• kvacit: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देश/काल-अनिश्चित/Indefinite adverb): “anywhere/ever”

• dṛṣṭam: seen
• dṛṣṭam: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; “seen” (impersonal: ‘has it been seen?’)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम: “by you”

• kiñcit: anything
• kiñcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रश्न/indefinite: “something/anything”

• āścaryam: a wonder
• āścaryam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āścarya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• bhūtale: on the earth
• bhūtale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; “on the earth”

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

• daivam: divine
• daivam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (for āścaryam): “divine”

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प/Disjunctive particle): “or”

• mānuṣam: human
• mānuṣam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण: “human”

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प): “or”

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अवधारण/particle): here = “also/even”

• dānavāḥ: O Dānavas
• dānavāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रथमा-बहुवचन (O Dānavas)

• laṃbhitāḥ: obtained
• laṃbhitāḥ: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (लभ्) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “obtained/attained” (addressed group)

• vibho: O mighty one
• vibho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Mahiṣāsura

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahiṣāsura, regal and imposing, leans forward questioning Nārada: has any marvel been seen on earth—divine or human—that surpasses the Dānavas?

Characters & Entities

• Mahiṣāsura
• Nārada
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Curiosity mixed with pride seeks comparison; Purāṇas often use such questions to reveal higher truths beyond arrogance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is identified in this verse; it sets up a marvel-description to follow.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a question initiating a narrative about extraordinary phenomena.