Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 109

Devanagari script

प्रेतभूता महाकायाः क्षुत्क्षामाश्चैव भीषणाः । दृष्ट्वा स्वप्नं महा रौद्रं भीतोऽसौ च प्रकंपितः

Transliteration

pretabhūtā mahākāyāḥ kṣutkṣāmāścaiva bhīṣaṇāḥ | dṛṣṭvā svapnaṃ mahā raudraṃ bhīto'sau ca prakaṃpitaḥ

Translation

Mereka bagaikan roh preta—bertubuh besar, kurus kering kerana kelaparan, dan mengerikan. Melihat mimpi yang amat dahsyat itu, dia menjadi takut lalu menggigil.

Word by Word

• प्रेतभूताः: ghostly beings, pretas
• प्रेतभूताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• महाकायाः: huge-bodied
• महाकायाः: Karta-anvaya (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying प्रेतभूताः)

• क्षुत्क्षामाः: emaciated from hunger
• क्षुत्क्षामाः: Karta-anvaya (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

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

• भीषणाः: terrifying
• भीषणाः: Karta-anvaya (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having seen’

• स्वप्नम्: a dream
• स्वप्नम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वप्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• महा: great
• महा: Karma-anvaya (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying रौद्रम्)

• रौद्रम्: fierce, dreadful
• रौद्रम्: Karma-anvaya (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying स्वप्नम्)

• भीतः: frightened
• भीतः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भी (धातु) + त (कृदन्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भावे ‘afraid’

• असौ: he (that person)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• प्रकंपितः: trembling, shaken
• प्रकंपितः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + कम्प् (धातु) + त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘trembled/shaken’

Speaker

Narrator within Dvārakā Māhātmya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The addressed king (राजन्) and the frame audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gigantic, gaunt, terrifying ancestral figures with hollow eyes and parched mouths loom in a nightmare landscape; Candraśarman recoils, trembling, hair raised, the dream saturated with dread.

Characters & Entities

• Preta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of dharma can manifest as ancestral distress; fear-inducing visions function as a call to restore sacred obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse; it supports the chapter’s larger tīrtha context by motivating corrective pilgrimage/rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse describes the dream-state and its emotional impact.