Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 121

Devanagari script

मूर्खस्तु मंदधीः पुत्रो दुःखं जनयते पितुः । अमार्गगो विशेषेण दुःखाद्दुःखतरं हि तत्

Transliteration

mūrkhastu maṃdadhīḥ putro duḥkhaṃ janayate pituḥ | amārgago viśeṣeṇa duḥkhādduḥkhataraṃ hi tat

Translation

Anak yang bodoh dan tumpul akalnya menimbulkan dukacita bagi ayahnya. Dan apabila dia menempuh jalan adharma, dukacita itu menjadi, sesungguhnya, lebih pedih daripada dukacita itu sendiri.

Word by Word

• मूर्खः: foolish
• मूर्खः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पुत्रः इत्यस्य)

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• मन्दधीः: slow-witted
• मन्दधीः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द + धी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पुत्रः इत्यस्य)

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जनयते: produces/causes
• जनयते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) (णिच् causative) → जनय (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• पितुः: of the father
• पितुः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• अमार्गगः: one who goes on a wrong path
• अमार्गगः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + मार्ग + ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पुत्रः इत्यस्य)

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषणवत् (instrumental used adverbially: especially)

• दुःखात्: than sorrow / from sorrow
• दुःखात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• दुःखतरम्: more painful
• दुःखतरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख + तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (implied, within Nārada’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Didactic tableau: the ṛṣi-father gestures in admonition; the son appears inattentive or wayward, turning away toward a darker path; symbolic forked road (mārga/amārga) behind them.

Characters & Entities

• Putra (son)
• Pitṛ (father)
• Amārga (wrong path)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Putra-dharma matters: a child’s unrighteous conduct becomes a severe source of suffering for parents and undermines household dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly, Vastrāpatha-kṣetra in the Prabhāsa region; the verse functions as ethical groundwork within the kṣetra-māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; it is a moral assessment of adharma.