Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 160

Devanagari script

युक्तं कृतं महेशानि यद्धतः पापकृत्तमः । त्रैलोक्यं सकलं ध्वस्तं पापेनानेन सुंदरि

Transliteration

yuktaṃ kṛtaṃ maheśāni yaddhataḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ | trailokyaṃ sakalaṃ dhvastaṃ pāpenānena suṃdari

Translation

“اے مہیشانی! یہ بالکل مناسب ہوا کہ گناہوں کا بدترین کرنے والا مارا گیا۔ اے حسین! اس کی بدی کے سبب تینوں لوک سراسر تباہی کی طرف جا رہے تھے۔”

Word by Word

• yuktam: proper, fitting
• yuktam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √yuj)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे प्रयोगः (‘it is proper’)

• kṛtam: done
• kṛtam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √kṛ)
• Form: क्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे (‘done’)

• maheśāni: O Maheśānī (consort of Maheśa)
• maheśāni: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśānī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• yat: that (the fact that)
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• hataḥ: (he) was slain
• hataḥ: Kriya (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √han)
• Form: क्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (he) ‘slain’

• pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ: the greatest sinner, worst evildoer
• pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √kṛ) + tama (प्रत्यय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘doer of sin’), तदन्त-तमप् (superlative: ‘most’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• trailokyam: the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (Affected entity/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (‘three worlds’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sakalam: entire, whole
• sakalam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying trailokya)

• dhvastam: destroyed, ruined
• dhvastam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhvasta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √dhvaṃs ‘to perish/be destroyed’)
• Form: क्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेयविशेषण

• pāpena: by sin, due to sin
• pāpena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• anena: by this (one/this act)
• anena: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (instrumental: ‘by this’)

• sundari: O beautiful one
• sundari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sundarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Deva-gaṇas (the gods, collectively praising Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (Devī-rakṣā-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas address Maheśānī after the defeat of a great sinner; the atmosphere shifts from battle-tension to relief; the three worlds symbolically steadied—clouds part, light returns.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśānī (Devī)
• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Removing the gravely sinful is an act of compassion for the worlds; divine punishment is framed as restoration of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arbuda/Varaparvata, where the Goddess’s act is remembered as world-protecting and therefore place-sanctifying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; it is theological praise explaining why the divine act was necessary.