Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

मृगयूथमनुप्राप्त व्याधव्याप्तं समन्ततः । ते मृगा भयसन्त्रस्ताः प्रविष्टा जलमध्यतः

Transliteration

mṛgayūthamanuprāpta vyādhavyāptaṃ samantataḥ | te mṛgā bhayasantrastāḥ praviṣṭā jalamadhyataḥ

Translation

Isang kawan ng usa, na napalibutan sa lahat ng panig ng mga mangangaso na dumating, ay pumasok sa gitna ng tubig dahil sa matinding takot.

Word by Word

• mṛgayūtham: a herd of deer
• mṛgayūtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक) + yūtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (मृगाणां यूथम्)

• anuprāpta: O (one who has) arrived/followed
• anuprāpta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anu√prāp (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; विशेषण (सम्बोधन)

• vyādhavyāptam: pervaded/covered by hunters
• vyādhavyāptam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyādha (प्रातिपदिक) + vyāpta (√vyāp धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (व्याधैः व्याप्तम्)

• samantataḥ: on all sides
• samantataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: परितः-अर्थक देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: on all sides)

• te: those
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• mṛgāḥ: deer
• mṛgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• bhayasantrastāḥ: terrified with fear
• bhayasantrastāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + santrasta (√tras धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (भयेन सन्त्रस्ताः)

• praviṣṭāḥ: entered
• praviṣṭāḥ: Kriya (Resultant state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√viś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle used predicatively), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• jalamadhyataḥ: into/from the middle of the water
• jalamadhyataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्)
• Form: तसिलन्त-अव्यय (ablatival adverb: from/into the midst); तत्पुरुष-समास (जलस्य मध्यः)

Speaker

Pulastya (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mānuṣa Hrada

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa / king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A frightened herd of deer rushes into a shining lake; hunters with bows surround the shore; the water’s center appears calm and luminous, hinting at protective sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Hunters (Vyādhas)
• Deer (Mṛga)
• Mānuṣa Hrada (implied setting)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha becomes a refuge: even creatures driven by fear are led into a space where divine merit can operate.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is set at the Mānuṣa sacred lake (Mānuṣa Hrada).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it sets the narrative scene leading to the tīrtha’s effect.