Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

खंडशश्च कृतश्चापि न च प्राणैर्वियुज्यते । ततः स विस्मयाविष्टो हंतव्योऽयं मया कथम्

Transliteration

khaṃḍaśaśca kṛtaścāpi na ca prāṇairviyujyate | tataḥ sa vismayāviṣṭo haṃtavyo'yaṃ mayā katham

Translation

اگرچہ اسے ٹکڑے ٹکڑے کر دیا گیا ہے، پھر بھی وہ سانسِ حیات سے جدا نہیں ہوتا۔ اس لیے تعجب میں ڈوب کر (پروردگار نے سوچا): ‘میں اسے کیسے قتل کروں؟’

Word by Word

• khaṇḍaśaḥ: into pieces
• khaṇḍaśaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: khaṇḍaśaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'in pieces')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• kṛtaḥ: made
• kṛtaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषण (made)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि (also/even)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वय (and)

• prāṇaiḥ: with life-breaths
• prāṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन

• viyujyate: is separated (from)
• viyujyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + yuj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (is separated)

• tataḥ: then, therefore
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः (thereupon/then)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vismaya-āviṣṭaḥ: overcome with astonishment
• vismaya-āviṣṭaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vismaya (प्रातिपदिक) + āviṣṭa (आ + viś धातु + क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष: 'विस्मयेन आविष्टः'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• hantavyaḥ: to be killed / must be killed
• hantavyaḥ: Karya (Obligation/कार्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: han (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृत्)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/obligatory); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartr-karana (Agent/कर्ता in obligation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• katham: how?
• katham: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (internal reflection attributed contextually to Viṣṇu/Keśava after learning the boon)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A battlefield moment of astonishment: the foe lies dismembered yet still alive; Keśava pauses, eyes widened in wonder, contemplating the paradox of life unsevered by wounds.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (Keśava/Madhusūdana/Janārdana)
• Kuśa
• Prāṇa
• Mahādeva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The cosmos runs by divine ordinances—boons, vows, and grants of immortality create constraints that even gods honor, reflecting the supremacy of dharma-order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā’s māhātmya frames the episode, presenting the sacred land as a stage where divine laws and boons manifest.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse focuses on the metaphysical effect of a boon (not being severed from prāṇa).