Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

निर्वेदेकोऽस्य हृदये धनक्षेत्रादिसंभवः । गृहीतं यदनेनाद्य बालेनापि महाव्रतम् । रक्ताक्षं काककृष्णांगं सत्वरं किं न पश्यथि

Transliteration

nirvedeko'sya hṛdaye dhanakṣetrādisaṃbhavaḥ | gṛhītaṃ yadanenādya bālenāpi mahāvratam | raktākṣaṃ kākakṛṣṇāṃgaṃ satvaraṃ kiṃ na paśyathi

Translation

धन-क्षेत्र इत्यादींमुळे उत्पन्न झालेला निर्वेदच त्याच्या हृदयात आहे; तरी आज त्याने बालकासारखे ‘महाव्रत’ घेतले. मग तुम्ही त्वरेने का पाहत नाही—लाल डोळ्यांचा, कावळ्यासारख्या काळ्या अंगांचा?

Word by Word

• nirvedaḥ: disgust, dispassion
• nirvedaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirveda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ekaḥ: alone, only
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (nirvedaḥ)

• asya: of him/this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• hṛdaye: in (the) heart
• hṛdaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• dhanakṣetrādi-saṃbhavaḥ: arising from wealth, land, etc.
• dhanakṣetrādi-saṃbhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोग) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (nirvedaḥ); समासः—धनक्षेत्रादि-सम्भवः (तत्पुरुषः, ‘धन-क्षेत्र-आदि’ इत्यस्मात् सम्भवः)

• gṛhītam: taken up, undertaken
• gṛhītam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √grah (ग्रह्, धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः; विशेषण (mahāvratam)

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• anena: by him/with this
• anena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• bālena: by a boy/child
• bālena: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• mahāvratam: a great vow
• mahāvratam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—महाव्रतम् (कर्मधारयः: ‘महच्च तत् व्रतम्’)

• raktākṣam: red-eyed
• raktākṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (कस्यचित्/इमाम् इत्यादि संदर्भे); समासः—रक्ताक्षम् (कर्मधारयः: ‘रक्ते अक्षिणी यस्य’)

• kākakṛṣṇāṅgam: having limbs black like a crow
• kākakṛṣṇāṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāka (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—काककृष्णाङ्गम् (तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारय-प्रायः: ‘काकवत् कृष्णम् अङ्गं यस्य’)

• satvaram: quickly, hastily
• satvaram: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satvara (अव्यय-प्रयोग/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: quickly)

• kim: what?/why?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• paśyatha: you (all) see/look
• paśyatha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; आज्ञार्थ-प्रयोग (imperative sense)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Sūta’s recitation in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A figure claiming a great vow is unmasked: red eyes, crow-black limbs, the aura of a hidden demon beneath a superficial ascetic pose; witnesses react with alarm.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True dharma requires inner transformation; vows taken without purity become hypocrisy and lead to ruin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, highlighting Prabhāsa as a dharma-revealing sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A ‘mahāvrata’ is mentioned, but in a critical tone—implying that mere adoption of a vow is not meritorious without sincerity.