Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

ततोऽसौ सप्तमे जातः शशकश्चैव जन्मनि । ततोऽसौ राक्षसो जातः पापात्मा सर्वभक्षकः

Transliteration

tato'sau saptame jātaḥ śaśakaścaiva janmani | tato'sau rākṣaso jātaḥ pāpātmā sarvabhakṣakaḥ

Translation

پھر ساتویں جنم میں وہ خرگوش بنا؛ اس کے بعد وہ پاپی فطرت والا، سب کو نگل جانے والا راکشس بن کر پیدا ہوا۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: then/thereafter)

• asau: he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (demonstrative pronoun)

• saptame: in the seventh
• saptame: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; ‘janmani’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• jātaḥ: was born
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘born’

• śaśakaḥ: a hare/rabbit
• śaśakaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• janmani: in (that) birth
• janmani: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय

• asau: he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• rākṣasaḥ: a demon (rākṣasa)
• rākṣasaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• jātaḥ: was born
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• pāpa-ātmā: sinful-natured
• pāpa-ātmā: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: ‘pāpaḥ ātmā yasya saḥ’ = whose nature/soul is sinful

• sarva-bhakṣakaḥ: devourer of all
• sarva-bhakṣakaḥ: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘sarvān bhakṣayati’ = eater of all

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārāvatī/Dvārakā (implied as forthcoming salvific sight)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King Dilīpa (addressed in nearby verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence-panel depiction of saṃsāra: the same jīva passing from hare-form to a fearsome rākṣasa, shadowed by karmic chains; distant, luminous Dvārāvatī hinted as future refuge.

Characters & Entities

• śaśaka (hare)
• rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma can propel the soul through varied births—sometimes seemingly disparate—until purification occurs; adharma culminates in harsher natures and lives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No direct tīrtha praise appears in this verse; it continues the karmic narrative within the Dvārakā Māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.