Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

नार्युवाच । आभीरी त्रिदशाधीश तथाहं बहुभर्तृका । फलार्थं तु समायाता पतिता गिरिनिर्झरे

Transliteration

nāryuvāca | ābhīrī tridaśādhīśa tathāhaṃ bahubhartṛkā | phalārthaṃ tu samāyātā patitā girinirjhare

Translation

นางกล่าวว่า: “โอ้เจ้าแห่งเทพสามสิบ ข้าคือหญิงอาภีรี และมีสามีมากแล้ว ข้ามาเพื่อแสวงหาผลบุญผลประโยชน์ แต่กลับพลัดตกลงในธารน้ำภูเขานี้”

Word by Word

• नारी: the woman
• नारी: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वक्त्री

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• आभीरी: an Ābhīrī woman (cowherdess)
• आभीरी: Karta (Predicate-noun/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आभीरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; आत्मपरिचय (I am an Ābhīrī)

• त्रिदशाधीश: O lord of the gods
• त्रिदशाधीश: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिदश (प्रातिपदिक) + अधीश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; संबोधनपदम्

• तथा: thus/also
• तथा: Kriya-vishesana (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक (thus/so/also)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन

• बहुभर्तृका: having many husbands
• बहुभर्तृका: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक) + क (तद्धित)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘अहम्’ इति विशेषणम्; बहवः भर्तारः यस्याः सा (having many husbands)

• फलार्थम्: for fruit/benefit
• फलार्थम्: Hetu (Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (हेत्वर्थे), ‘फलस्य अर्थे’ (for fruit/benefit)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारण/विरोधार्थक

• समायाता: come/arrived
• समायाता: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + या (धातु) → समायात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘अहम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• पतिता: fallen
• पतिता: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत् (धातु) → पतित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘अहम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• गिरिनिर्झरे: in a mountain stream
• गिरिनिर्झरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्झर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरणे

Speaker

The woman (Ābhīrī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda giri-nirjhara (contextual)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śakra (Indra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pastoral Ābhīrī woman, wet from the stream, speaks defensively yet candidly to Indra; rocky cascade and forested mountain flank them.

Characters & Entities

• Ābhīrī
• Indra (as Tridaśādhiśa)
• Mountain stream (girinirjhara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives often juxtapose divine power with human circumstance, highlighting the complexity of desire, social reality, and the pursuit of benefit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is the Arbuda mountain’s sacred waters; the broader passage treats the waters as tīrtha-like, though the exact name is outside this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, the context points toward bathing/entering sacred waters (snāna), though no direct injunction is stated in this line.