Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

संतप्य बहुधा देवि दक्षिणो दधिमागतः । तत्र विध्वंसयामास ऋषीणामाश्रमाणि वै

Transliteration

saṃtapya bahudhā devi dakṣiṇo dadhimāgataḥ | tatra vidhvaṃsayāmāsa ṛṣīṇāmāśramāṇi vai

Translation

హే దేవీ! అనేక విధాలుగా జీవులను దహింపజేస్తూ దక్షిణదిక్కుని దధిమాన్ అక్కడికి వచ్చి ఋషుల ఆశ్రమాలను ధ్వంసం చేయడం ప్రారంభించాడు।

Word by Word

• संतप्य: having tormented
• संतप्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: संतप्य (कृदन्त-अव्यय; सम् + √तप् (धातु) + ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• बहुधा: in many ways
• बहुधा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• दक्षिणः: Dakṣiṇa (name)
• दक्षिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तृ

• दधिम्: curd
• दधिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• आगतः: came/arrived
• आगतः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आगत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; आ + √गम् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) कर्तरि-प्रयोगार्थ (intransitive perfective)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• विध्वंसयामास: destroyed
• विध्वंसयामास: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + √ध्वंस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद-परिप्रयोग (आमास-प्रयोग)

• ऋषीणाम्: of the sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध

• आश्रमाणि: hermitages
• आश्रमाणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Purāṇic framing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dadhimān, the southern-moving demon, arrives like a scorching wind; hermitages with thatched roofs and sacrificial fires are smashed; sages flee amid broken yajña-implements.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Dadhimān
• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When adharma disrupts sacred life, the Purāṇas frame it as a call to seek divine protection and restore dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), the renowned sacred region praised in the Skanda Purāṇa’s Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse sets the narrative crisis that leads to prayer and refuge-seeking.