Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

प्राक्षिपत्सागरे तत्र पुरुषो राजशासितः । अथोवाच स्वनगरे वचनादाहुकस्य हि

Transliteration

prākṣipatsāgare tatra puruṣo rājaśāsitaḥ | athovāca svanagare vacanādāhukasya hi

Translation

ณ ที่นั้น บุรุษผู้หนึ่งตามพระบัญชาของพระราชาถูกโยนลงสู่มหาสมุทร แล้วในนครของตน เขาได้ประกาศถ้อยคำนั้น เพราะเป็นวาจาที่อาหุกะได้กล่าวไว้

Word by Word

• प्राक्षिपत्: threw; cast
• प्राक्षिपत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• सागरे: in the sea
• सागरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• पुरुषः: a man
• पुरुषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• राजशासितः: ordered by the king
• राजशासितः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक) + शास् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञा शासितः = ordered by the king)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• स्वनगरे: in his own city
• स्वनगरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + नगर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वस्य नगरम्)

• वचनात्: from (the) word; by the instruction
• वचनात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/from)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान/हेतु), एकवचन

• आहुकस्य: of Āhuka
• आहुकस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Nipata (Emphasis/Cause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (causal/emphatic particle)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator in Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; traditionally Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-samudra-tīra (sea-shore of Prabhāsa)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal agent, under command, throws the powdered cursed substance into the sea; later, proclamation/announcement in the city referencing Āhuka’s words—two-scene diptych: shore and city.

Characters & Entities

• rājā (king)
• Āhuka
• sāgara (ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives often show how royal authority and public action can become instruments of fate; adherence to command and proclamation sets the stage for unfolding karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha region), the sacred coastal pilgrimage landscape praised in the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes an act under royal order rather than a vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa.