Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

ददुः शापं सुसंतप्ताः कलत्रार्थे परंतप । पततां पततां लिङ्गमेतत्ते पापकृत्तम

Transliteration

daduḥ śāpaṃ susaṃtaptāḥ kalatrārthe paraṃtapa | patatāṃ patatāṃ liṅgametatte pāpakṛttama

Translation

ହେ ପରନ୍ତପ! ପତ୍ନୀ-ବିଷୟରେ ଅତ୍ୟନ୍ତ ସନ୍ତପ୍ତ ହୋଇ ସେମାନେ ଶାପ ଦେଲେ—“ତୋର ଲିଙ୍ଗ ପତିତ ହେଉ, ପତିତ ହେଉ! ହେ ପାପକର୍ମରେ ଅଧମ!”

Word by Word

• daduḥ: they gave/uttered
• daduḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• śāpam: a curse
• śāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• susaṃtaptāḥ: greatly distressed
• susaṃtaptāḥ: Karta (Descriptive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + saṃtaptā (प्रातिपदिक; sam-√tap धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; उपसर्ग/उपपद 'su-' (intensifier)

• kalatrārthe: for the sake of (their) wives
• kalatrārthe: Nimitta/Hetu (Purpose/Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalatra + artha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'for the sake of a wife' (artha)

• paraṃtapa: O tormentor of foes
• paraṃtapa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paraṃtapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: 'one who torments enemies'

• patatām: let (it) fall
• patatām: Kriyā (Injunctive action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive sense), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; आज्ञार्थ/आशीर्लिङ्गार्थ: 'let it fall'

• patatām: let it fall (again)
• patatām: Kriyā (Injunctive action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लोट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for emphasis)

• liṅgam: the linga
• liṅgam: Karta (Subject of imperative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying liṅgam)

• te: for you/to you
• te: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन

• pāpakṛttama: O worst sinner
• pāpakṛttama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa + kṛt + tama (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'doer of sin' + तम (superlative)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator quoting the sages) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājarṣi

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ring of furious sages, faces flushed, pronounce a curse; their raised hands and blazing eyes send forth an unseen force toward the calm figure of Śiva; the air thickens with impending cosmic rupture.

Characters & Entities

• munayaḥ
• liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Anger and possessiveness can distort judgment; even a spoken curse becomes karmically potent when driven by passion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode functions as a māhātmya-setting for Arbuda-kṣetra, where the liṅga-event becomes part of the sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit vrata or dāna is stated here; the verse narrates the originating curse that triggers later remedial action.