Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

न कदाचिद्यथा यूयं किमर्थं क्षेत्रमध्यतः । धावमानाः सुदुःखार्ता एतन्मे कौतुकं महत्

Transliteration

na kadācidyathā yūyaṃ kimarthaṃ kṣetramadhyataḥ | dhāvamānāḥ suduḥkhārtā etanme kautukaṃ mahat

Translation

‘Kamu tidak pernah begini—mengapa kamu berlari-lari di tengah kawasan suci ini, ditimpa kesengsaraan yang begitu hebat? Ini adalah satu keajaiban besar bagiku.’

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• kadācit: ever/at any time
• kadācit: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācit (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• yathā: as/like
• yathā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तुलनार्थक/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (comparative/manner)

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग (common), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• kimartham: for what reason? why?
• kimartham: Sambandha (Reason query/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय; किम्-प्रातिपदिकेन सह अर्थ-शब्दस्य समासः (हेतुप्रश्न)

• kṣetra-madhyataḥ: from the middle of the sacred area/field
• kṣetra-madhyataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तस्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रायः तद्धितान्त-अव्यय; मध्यम् इत्यस्य तसिल् (तस्) प्रत्ययेन ‘मध्यतः’ (ablatival adverb)

• dhāvamānāḥ: running
• dhāvamānāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhāv (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• su-duḥkha-ārtāḥ: greatly distressed/suffering much pain
• su-duḥkha-ārtāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + ārta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘सुदुःख’ इति कर्मधारय-समासः, तेन ‘आर्त’ विशेष्यते

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (अत्र प्रथमा)

• me: my/to me
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन (enclitic)

• kautukam: curiosity/wonder
• kautukam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kautuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• mahat: great
• mahat: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (कौतुकम् इति विशेष्यस्य)

Speaker

Brāhmaṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The questioner gestures toward the sacred heart of Prabhāsa, astonished that such miserable beings run about there; pretas appear restless, as if repelled by an unseen boundary of sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Pretas
• Kṣetra (sacred region)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy place is not only for the fortunate; it also becomes the stage where suffering seeks release—prompting compassion and dharmic understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kṣetra associated with Preta-tīrtha in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the focus is on the moral and theological puzzle that leads to the tīrtha’s origin explanation.