Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

यदा चाभ्यन्तरो वायुर्बाह्ये याति क्रमान्नृप । तदा स रेचको ज्ञेयः स्तम्भनात्कुम्भको भवेत्

Transliteration

yadā cābhyantaro vāyurbāhye yāti kramānnṛpa | tadā sa recako jñeyaḥ stambhanātkumbhako bhavet

Translation

ข้าแต่มหาราช เมื่อปราณวายุภายในค่อย ๆ เคลื่อนออกสู่ภายนอก นั่นพึงรู้ว่าเป็น “เรจกะ”; และเมื่อกั้นไว้ให้หยุดนิ่ง ก็เป็น “กุมภกะ” (กลั้นลม)

Word by Word

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kriya (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (when)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• abhyantaraḥ: internal
• abhyantaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhyantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘वायुः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (internal)

• vāyuḥ: breath; air
• vāyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (wind/breath)

• bāhye: to the outside
• bāhye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘बाह्य’ = outside (to the exterior)

• yāti: goes
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या) (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम् (goes)

• kramāt: gradually; in sequence
• kramāt: Kriya (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत्—‘क्रमात्’ (gradually/in order)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

• saḥ: that (process)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• recakaḥ: recaka (exhalation)
• recakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: recaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jñeyaḥ: is to be known
• jñeyaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jñā (ज्ञा) (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य (यत्) ‘ज्ञेय’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (is to be known)

• stambhanāt: from retention; by stopping
• stambhanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stambhana (प्रातिपदिक; √stambh (स्तम्भ्) ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; कारणार्थे—‘स्तम्भनात्’ (from/through retention)

• kumbhakaḥ: kumbhaka (retention)
• kumbhakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumbhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (breath-retention)

• bhavet: becomes
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू) (धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘भवेत्’ (would be/comes to be)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva), instructing the King

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The disciple practices slow exhalation; the breath is depicted as a faint stream leaving the nostrils; then a still moment—kumbhaka—shown by a luminous aura held at the heart/navel; guru gestures ‘stop/hold’.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• nṛpa (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disciplined regulation of prāṇa—exhaling and then restraining—forms a foundation for yogic steadiness and inner realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra Māhātmya of Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, tying yogic practice to the sanctity of Vastrāpatha in the Prabhāsa sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yogic prescription: recognizing recaka (exhalation) and practicing kumbhaka (retention) through restraint of the breath.