Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

एकदा वसतस्तस्य सुभद्रा परिचारिका । स्नानार्थं यातुमारब्धा चतुर्थेऽह्नि रजस्वला

Transliteration

ekadā vasatastasya subhadrā paricārikā | snānārthaṃ yātumārabdhā caturthe'hni rajasvalā

Translation

กาลครั้งหนึ่ง เมื่อท่านพำนักอยู่ที่นั่น สุภัทราผู้ปรนนิบัติ—ในวันที่สี่แห่งระดู—เริ่มออกเดินไปเพื่ออาบน้ำชำระกาย

Word by Word

• एकदा: once
• एकदा: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• वसतः: of (him) dwelling
• वसतः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वस् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-सम्भव), षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘वसत्’ (dwelling) इत्यस्य षष्ठी ‘वसतः’ = of (him) dwelling

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सुभद्रा: Subhadrā
• सुभद्रा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुभद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• परिचारिका: attendant/maidservant
• परिचारिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिचारिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अप्पोजिशन (सुभद्रा = परिचारिका)

• स्नानार्थम्: for bathing
• स्नानार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; द्वितीया-तत्पुरुषार्थे अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (स्नानस्य अर्थे)

• यातुम्: to go
• यातुम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), गत्यर्थक; ‘to go’

• आरब्धा: having begun/started
• आरब्धा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√रभ् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः (she having begun)

• चतुर्थे: on the fourth
• चतुर्थे: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अह्नि’ इति विशेषणम्

• अह्नि: day
• अह्नि: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• रजस्वला: menstruating
• रजस्वला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रजस्वला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सुभद्रा)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Subhadrā, an attendant, prepares to go for a ritual bath on the fourth day of menstruation; the setting suggests a path from hermitage to water, with an undertone of impending anomaly.

Characters & Entities

• Subhadrā
• Snāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It sets a narrative context where bodily states and conduct intersect with dharma, preparing for consequences driven by purity norms and fate in Purāṇic storytelling.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The bathing is undertaken within the sacred landscape framed by Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya, where waters and banks are treated as spiritually consequential.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) is mentioned as an intended act; no detailed rule is given in this verse.