Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

आदौ माहिषकं दृष्ट्वा मध्ये च वृषलीपतिम् । अन्ते वार्धुषिकं दृष्ट्वा निराशाः पितरो गताः

Transliteration

ādau māhiṣakaṃ dṛṣṭvā madhye ca vṛṣalīpatim | ante vārdhuṣikaṃ dṛṣṭvā nirāśāḥ pitaro gatāḥ

Translation

Melihat pada awalnya seorang māhiṣaka, di pertengahan seorang “suami vṛṣalī”, dan di akhirnya seorang vārdhuṣika—apabila bertemu yang demikian, para Pitṛ (leluhur) beredar pergi dengan hampa, harapan mereka tidak tertunai.

Word by Word

• ādau: at first
• ādau: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (adverbial locative): ‘in the beginning’

• māhiṣakam: a māhiṣaka (person)
• māhiṣakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhiṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund): ‘having seen’

• madhye: in the middle
• madhye: Kāla/Deśa (Temporal/Spatial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (adverbial locative): ‘in the middle’

• ca: and
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• vṛṣalīpatim: husband of a śūdra woman
• vṛṣalīpatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣalī (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृषल्याः पतिम्)

• ante: at the end
• ante: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (adverbial locative): ‘at the end’

• vārdhuṣikam: a vārdhuṣika (usurer/moneylender)
• vārdhuṣikam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārdhuṣika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund)

• nirāśāḥ: hopeless
• nirāśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-āśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• pitaraḥ: the forefathers
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• gatāḥ: went/are gone
• gatāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; क्रियापदवत् (periphrastic perfect sense)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A triptych-like composition: at the start of a śrāddha procession a figure labeled māhiṣaka appears; mid-ritual a vṛṣalīpati is encountered; at the end a vārdhuṣika appears; above them, translucent Pitṛs turn away and fade, showing dashed expectations.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha and Pitṛ-offerings must be performed with dhārmic purity of company and conduct; otherwise the intended ancestral blessing is obstructed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha) is the overarching sacred geography of this section, framing rules connected to merit and ancestral rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implicit prescription: avoid ineligible or dharma-prohibited persons/associations during Śrāddha so the Pitṛs do not ‘depart disappointed’.