Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

तालशब्दैस्तथा बन्धैः पुस्तकानां च वाचकैः । एवं रात्र्यां तु शेषायां यावत्तिष्ठति तत्र वै

Transliteration

tālaśabdaistathā bandhaiḥ pustakānāṃ ca vācakaiḥ | evaṃ rātryāṃ tu śeṣāyāṃ yāvattiṣṭhati tatra vai

Translation

ด้วยเสียงตบมือกำกับจังหวะ ด้วยฉันทลักษณ์และบทประพันธ์ และด้วยผู้ขับอ่านคัมภีร์ออกเสียง—ดังนี้ตลอดส่วนที่เหลือของราตรี เขาก็ยังคงพำนักอยู่ ณ ที่นั้นจริงแท้

Word by Word

• ताल: cymbal/beat (tāla)
• ताल: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, समासे पूर्वपद

• शब्दैः: with sounds
• शब्दैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• तथा: also; likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक

• बन्धैः: with bindings/fastenings
• बन्धैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• पुस्तकानाम्: of books
• पुस्तकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुस्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• वाचकैः: by readers/reciters
• वाचकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाचक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner)

• रात्र्याम्: in the night
• रात्र्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधसूचक (particle)

• शेषायाम्: in the remaining (part)
• शेषायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (remaining)

• यावत्: as long as; until
• यावत्: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-बोधक (until/as long as)

• तिष्ठति: stands; remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/खलु-अर्थे (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Unspecified first-person narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya (deductively: the thief-speaker continuing the account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the Purāṇic frame (Skanda Purāṇa’s dialogic setting)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a lamp-lit temple at Prabhāsa, devotees keep time with tāla (hand-claps/cymbals), singers render compositions, and learned readers recite from palm-leaf books through the remaining night.

Characters & Entities

• Śivarātri vigil (context)
• Reciters (pustaka-vācaka)
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional arts and scripture-recitation sustain vigilance and focus, turning the night into an offering rather than ordinary time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, depicted as hosting night-long devotional recitation and music on Śivarātri.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Continuing jāgaraṇa through rhythmic tāla, devotional compositions, and public reading/recitation from texts.