Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

निवेदयन्तो वृत्तांतं चत्वरेषु त्रिकेषु च । यथा वै व्याघ्रतां प्राप्तः स राजाऽर्बुदपर्वते

Transliteration

nivedayanto vṛttāṃtaṃ catvareṣu trikeṣu ca | yathā vai vyāghratāṃ prāptaḥ sa rājā'rbudaparvate

Translation

ਚੌਕਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਤਿੰਨ-ਰਾਹਿਆਂ ਉੱਤੇ ਸਾਰਾ ਵ੍ਰਿਤਾਂਤ ਸੁਣਾਉਂਦੇ ਹੋਏ, ਉਹ ਦੱਸਦੇ ਰਹੇ ਕਿ ਅਰਬੁਦ ਪਰਬਤ ਉੱਤੇ ਉਹ ਰਾਜਾ ਨਿਸਚਿਤ ਹੀ ਵਿਆਘ੍ਰ ਬਣ ਗਿਆ ਸੀ।

Word by Word

• nivedayantaḥ: reporting/telling
• nivedayantaḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + √vid (विद्) (कृदन्त-शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (present participle; masculine nominative plural)

• vṛttāntam: the account/news
• vṛttāntam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtta + anta (वृत्त + अन्त; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (masculine accusative singular)

• catvareṣu: in the squares
• catvareṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catvara (चत्वर-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन (neuter locative plural)

• trikeṣu: at the crossroads/tri-junctions
• trikeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trika (त्रिक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन (neuter locative plural)

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

• yathā: how
• yathā: Sambandha (Clause linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (यथा-अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/वृत्तान्तवाचक (indeclinable; ‘how/that’)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (वै-अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/खल्वर्थक निपात (particle of emphasis)

• vyāghratām: tigerness; the state of being a tiger
• vyāghratām: Karma (Result state/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāghra + tā (व्याघ्र + ता; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (feminine accusative singular; abstract noun)

• prāptaḥ: having attained
• prāptaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √āp (आप्) (कृदन्त-क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि (past participle; masculine nominative singular)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (pronoun; masculine nominative singular)

• rājā: the king
• rājā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (राजन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• arbudaparvate: on Mount Arbuda
• arbudaparvate: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arbuda + parvata (अर्बुद + पर्वत; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (masculine locative singular)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-parvata

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Messengers or townsfolk announce at a city square and at crossroads the astonishing news: a king on Arbuda Mountain has become a tiger; the mountain looms in the background, with anxious listeners gathered.

Characters & Entities

• Arbuda-parvata (Mount Arbuda)
• Rājā (king)
• Vyāghra (tiger)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Public memory preserves dharma: society retells karmic examples so future rulers and people avoid adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arbuda-parvata (Mount Abu) is explicitly named, framed as a sacred mountain where divine moral order becomes manifest.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse emphasizes proclamation and remembrance rather than a specific vrata or tīrtha-rite.