Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 198

Devanagari script

हा दैव रिपुरायाति अस्माकं नाशहेतवे । अधुना क्व गमिष्याम इति चिंता पुनःपुनः

Transliteration

hā daiva ripurāyāti asmākaṃ nāśahetave | adhunā kva gamiṣyāma iti ciṃtā punaḥpunaḥ

Translation

“อนิจจา! ด้วยอำนาจแห่งชะตา ศัตรูกำลังมาเพื่อความพินาศของเรา บัดนี้เราจะไปที่ใดเล่า?”—ความกังวลเช่นนี้เกิดขึ้นซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า

Word by Word

• हा: alas!
• हा: Sambodhana/Exclamation (सम्बोधन/उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार-अव्यय (interjection)

• दैव: O fate / O destiny
• दैव: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (vocative sense)

• रिपुः: the enemy
• रिपुः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रिपु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• आयाति: comes / approaches
• आयाति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इ (धातु) + आ- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अस्माकम्: of us / our
• अस्माकम्: Shashthi-sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• नाशहेतवे: for (our) destruction’s cause / for destroying (us)
• नाशहेतवे: Sampradana/Purpose (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक) + हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (नाशस्य हेतु:); पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन

• अधुना: now
• अधुना: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधुना (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• क्व: where
• क्व: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• गमिष्यामः: shall we go
• गमिष्यामः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• इति: thus
• इति: Vakyartha-marker (वाक्यार्थ-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्ति-सूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• चिन्ता: anxiety / worry
• चिन्ता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिन्ता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• पुनःपुनः: again and again
• पुनःपुनः: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनःपुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: आवृत्तिवाचक-अव्यय (repetitive adverb)

Speaker

Personified Tīrthas (speaking in lament; deduced from surrounding verses about tīrthas fleeing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (tīrtha community in crisis)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Personified tīrthas—river-goddesses and shrine-deities—huddle in fear, looking back at an approaching ‘enemy’; repeated anxious gestures convey ‘again and again’ worry about where to go.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrthas (implied speakers)
• Vainya (implied as ‘enemy’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacredness is protected by dharma; when threatened by wrongdoing, even tīrthas are depicted as withdrawing their grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse expresses the collective fear of tīrthas within the broader Prabhāsa-Kurukṣetra narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a lament highlighting the urgency for purification and restraint.