Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

यावद्दीपो गतप्रायो वर्त्तिच्छेदोऽभवत्किल । तावत्तेन दशा दत्ता द्रव्यान्वेषणकारणात्

Transliteration

yāvaddīpo gataprāyo vartticchedo'bhavatkila | tāvattena daśā dattā dravyānveṣaṇakāraṇāt

Translation

ครั้นประทีปใกล้ดับและไส้ตะเกียงขาดลง ในขณะนั้นเองเขาก็ล้มลง—เพราะกำลังเที่ยวค้นหาทรัพย์ของมีค่า

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as / until
• यावत्: Temporal correlate
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धे (correlative)

• दीपः: lamp
• दीपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• गतप्रायः: almost gone (nearly extinguished)
• गतप्रायः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (√गम् धातु; कृदन्त) + प्राय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (to दीपः)

• वर्त्ति: wick
• वर्त्ति: —
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्त्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• छेदः: cutting, break
• छेदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वर्त्तिच्छेदः: wick-cutting/breaking of the wick
• वर्त्तिच्छेदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्त्ति + छेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अभवत्: happened, occurred
• अभवत्: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• किल: indeed, it is said
• किल: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किल (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रसिद्ध्यर्थक/अनुश्रुत्यर्थक निपात (indeed/it is said)

• तावत्: then, for that long
• तावत्: Temporal correlate
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धे (correlative: then/so long)

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Karana/Agent (Instrumental; agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• दशा: condition/state
• दशा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दत्ता: was given/assigned
• दत्ता: Kriya (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु) → दत्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि (given)

• द्रव्य: goods/property
• द्रव्य: —
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• अन्वेषण: searching
• अन्वेषण: —
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनु-इष्/एष् (धातु) → अन्वेषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• कारणात्: because of, due to
• कारणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (ablative of cause)

• द्रव्यान्वेषणकारणात्: due to the reason of searching for goods
• द्रव्यान्वेषणकारणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य + अन्वेषण + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (narratorial voice within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Śiva-ālaya)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flickering oil lamp nearly dies; the wick snaps; at that instant the intruder is struck down or felled in the dark, hands reaching toward the offerings.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva-temple context (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma invites swift reversal; even a moment’s greed can trigger immediate consequence, especially in sacred settings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scene remains within a Śiva-temple associated with the Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative; no named tīrtha appears in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The lamp (dīpa) indicates temple worship practice, but no instruction is given—only narrative detail.