Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

पितामहोऽसि देवानामृषीणां प्रपितामहः । कथं न ते त्रपा जाता आत्मनः पश्यतस्तनुम्

Transliteration

pitāmaho'si devānāmṛṣīṇāṃ prapitāmahaḥ | kathaṃ na te trapā jātā ātmanaḥ paśyatastanum

Translation

Ikaw ang Lolo ng mga diyos, at ang ninuno-sa-ninuno ng mga rishi. Paano hindi sumibol sa iyo ang hiya, kahit tinitingnan mo ang sarili mong katawan?

Word by Word

• pitāmahaḥ: grandfather
• pitāmahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• asi: you are
• asi: Kriya (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• ṛṣīṇām: of the sages
• ṛṣīṇām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• prapitāmahaḥ: great-grandfather
• prapitāmahaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prapitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पूर्वपद ‘प्र-’ उपसर्गवत् (great-)

• kathaṃ: how
• kathaṃ: Sambandha (Question/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kathaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• te: to you/your
• te: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• trapā: shame, embarrassment
• trapā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trapā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• jātā: arisen, born
• jātā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘त्रपा’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• ātmanaḥ: of yourself
• ātmanaḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• paśyataḥ: while seeing, as you look
• paśyataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paśy (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘आत्मनः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• tanum: body
• tanum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Devī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker reminds a venerable cosmic elder—grandfather of gods and great-grandfather of sages—questioning how shame did not arise while he looked upon his own body; the scene is charged with introspection and moral gravity.

Characters & Entities

• deva (gods)
• ṛṣi (sages)
• pitāmaha (grandfather)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

High status and cosmic authority do not exempt one from inner conscience; dharma begins with self-restraint and modesty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode unfolds within Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s māhātmya, presenting the sacred region as a stage for dharmic correction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an ethical interrogation emphasizing trapā (modesty) as a virtue.