Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

मोहनं तदभक्तानां भक्तानां बुद्धिवर्द्धनम् । मूढास्ते नैव पश्यंति स्वरूपं मम मोहिताः

Transliteration

mohanaṃ tadabhaktānāṃ bhaktānāṃ buddhivarddhanam | mūḍhāste naiva paśyaṃti svarūpaṃ mama mohitāḥ

Translation

Nililito nito ang mga hindi deboto, ngunit pinalalago ang pag-unawa ng mga deboto. Ang mga hangal na nadadala ng māyā ay hindi kailanman nakakakita sa Aking tunay na anyo, sapagkat sila’y nababalot ng pagkalito.

Word by Word

• mohanam: delusion, enchantment
• mohanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mohana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (singular)

• tad-abhaktānām: of those non-devotees
• tad-abhaktānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक) + a-bhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'of those who are non-devotees of him/that'), पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन (plural)

• bhaktānām: of devotees
• bhaktānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन (plural)

• buddhi-vardhanam: increase of understanding
• buddhi-vardhanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: buddhi (प्रातिपदिक) + vardhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'increase of intellect'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (singular)

• mūḍhāḥ: the deluded (fools)
• mūḍhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन (plural)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन (plural)

• na: not
• na: Avyaya (Negation/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध (negation particle)

• eva: indeed, at all
• eva: Avyaya (Emphasis/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• paśyanti: see
• paśyanti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (plural)

• svarūpam: true form, real nature
• svarūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva-rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (कर्मधारय/षष्ठीभाव: 'own form/true nature'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

• mama: of me, my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन (singular)

• mohitāḥ: bewildered, deluded
• mohitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mohita (प्रातिपदिक; √muh + kta)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन (plural)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Someśvara (Somnātha) at Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast tableau: devotees with folded hands receive luminous insight from the liṅga’s radiance, while skeptical onlookers remain in shadow, unable to perceive Śiva’s true form; Śiva’s presence is suggested as light itself.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Bhakta (devotee)
• Abhakta (non-devotee)
• Māyā/Moha (delusion)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti clarifies perception and matures wisdom, while lack of devotion leaves one trapped in moha, unable to recognize the Divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Prabhāsa-kṣetra, as part of Somnātha’s māhātmya teaching discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied prescription is devotion (bhakti) as the means to right understanding.