Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

पूर्वमेव हतं तेन कृष्णेन हृदयादिकम् । पाययित्वाऽधरविषं योषिद्व्रातं पलायितः

Transliteration

pūrvameva hataṃ tena kṛṣṇena hṛdayādikam | pāyayitvā'dharaviṣaṃ yoṣidvrātaṃ palāyitaḥ

Translation

அந்தக் கிருஷ்ணன் முன்பே எங்கள் இதயம் முதலிய அனைத்தையும் கொன்றுவிட்டான். தன் உதடுகளின் விஷத்தைப் பெண்கள் கூட்டத்துக்குப் புகட்டிவிட்டு அவன் ஓடிப்போனான்.

Word by Word

• पूर्वम्: formerly/before
• पूर्वम्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly/before)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis)

• हतम्: destroyed
• हतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘killed/destroyed’

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• कृष्णेन: by Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णेन: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; ‘तेन’ इत्यस्य विशेषण/समानााधिकरण

• हृदयादिकम्: the heart and the like (inner being)
• हृदयादिकम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृदय-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—हृदयम् आदि यस्य/हृदयादि (आदि-समासः; तत्पुरुषप्राय)

• पाययित्वा: having made (them) drink
• पाययित्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु, causative/णिच्: पायय) + क्त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), णिजन्त (causative) ‘having made (someone) drink’

• अधरविषम्: the poison of (his) lips
• अधरविषम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधर- विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—अधरस्य विषम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• योषिद्व्रातम्: the multitude of women
• योषिद्व्रातम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योषित्-व्रात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—योषितां व्रातः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• पलायितः: fled away
• पलायितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पलाय् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘fled’

Speaker

Gopīs (lamenting women of Vraja; collective voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (with Vraja-smṛti as inner tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Uddhava (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gopīs speak in wounded love: Kṛṣṇa has already ‘slain’ their hearts; the sweetness of his lips is described as poison; the messenger stands as silent witness.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense viraha-bhakti: worldly abandonment becomes a crucible that deepens devotion and inner remembrance of Bhagavān.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, presented in the Dvārakā-māhātmya as Kṛṣṇa’s sacred city and a locus of remembrance and pilgrimage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the verse expresses devotional separation (viraha) rather than snāna, dāna, or japa.