Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

आदेशं पठते यस्तु आदेशं तु ददाति यः । द्वावेतौ पापकर्माणौ पातालतलवासिनौ

Transliteration

ādeśaṃ paṭhate yastu ādeśaṃ tu dadāti yaḥ | dvāvetau pāpakarmāṇau pātālatalavāsinau

Translation

ผู้ใดสวด ‘อาเทศะ’ และผู้ใดมอบ ‘อาเทศะ’—ทั้งสองเป็นผู้กระทำบาป กำหนดให้ไปพำนักในโลกบาดาล (ปาตาละ)

Word by Word

• ādeśam: (a) command / instruction
• ādeśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• paṭhate: recites / reads
• paṭhate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक

• ādeśam: (a) command
• ādeśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• tu: and/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम

• dvau: two
• dvau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषण

• etau: these
• etau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; निर्देशवाचक-सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• pāpa-karmāṇau: evil-doers / of sinful acts
• pāpa-karmāṇau: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; कर्मधारयः (पापं कर्म यस्य/ययोः)

• pātāla-tala-vāsinau: dwelling in the netherworld (Pātāla)
• pātāla-tala-vāsinau: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (पातालतले वासी)

Speaker

Skanda (as narrator of Prabhāsa-māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa’s sacred precinct, a stern admonition is proclaimed: those who recite or issue a dubious ‘ādeśa’ for worldly ends are shown falling toward shadowy subterranean realms, contrasting with the luminous tīrtha atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain speech-acts and transmissions are condemned as adharma; discipline in ritual speech protects spiritual integrity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This prohibition appears within the Prabhāsa Kṣetra māhātmya’s broader tīrtha-dharma instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition: do not recite or confer the condemned ‘ādeśa’; it is said to lead to severe karmic consequence.