Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

एकः प्रायोपवेशेन प्राणांस्त्यजति मानवः । पश्यत्यन्यो हृषीकेशं चातुर्मास्यं समाहितः

Transliteration

ekaḥ prāyopaveśena prāṇāṃstyajati mānavaḥ | paśyatyanyo hṛṣīkeśaṃ cāturmāsyaṃ samāhitaḥ

Translation

ایک شخص پرایوپویش (موت تک روزہ) کے ذریعے اپنی جان چھوڑ دیتا ہے؛ مگر دوسرا، یکسو اور مجتمع دل کے ساتھ، چاتُرمَاسیہ میں ہریشیکیش کے درشن کرتا ہے—اسی کو اعلیٰ تر روحانی حاصل کہا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• prāyopaveśena: by fasting unto death (prāyopaveśa)
• prāyopaveśena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāya-upaveśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—प्राय (मरण-समये) + उपवेश (उपवेशन/उपवेशः)

• prāṇān: life-breaths, vital airs
• prāṇān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• tyajati: abandons
• tyajati: Kriyā (मुख्यक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (त्यज् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• mānavaḥ: a man, human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ekaḥ इत्यस्य समानाधिकरणम्

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriyā (मुख्यक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• anyaḥ: another (person)
• anyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• hṛṣīkeśam: Hṛṣīkeśa
• hṛṣīkeśam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛṣīkeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• cāturmāsyam: the four-month period
• cāturmāsyam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (काल/अवधि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• samāhitaḥ: concentrated
• samāhitaḥ: Karta-guṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (सम्+आ+धा धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (अन्यः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hṛṣīkeśa-darśana (Cāturmāsya)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast tableau: on one side an ascetic undertaking prāyopaveśa (emaciated, seated in vow), on the other a serene devotee with folded hands beholding Hṛṣīkeśa during the rainy-season Cāturmāsya; the deity radiates calm sovereignty over the senses.

Characters & Entities

• Prāyopaveśa
• Hṛṣīkeśa
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerities that end life are not the highest ideal; the highest is steadfast devotion culminating in divine darśana.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named location in this verse; the focus is the sacred Cāturmāsya period and Hṛṣīkeśa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prāyopaveśa (fasting unto death) is referenced as an extreme vow, contrasted with Cāturmāsya-centered worship and contemplation.