Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

केशवार्चा गृहे यस्य न तिष्ठति महीपते । तस्यान्नं न च भोक्तव्यमभक्ष्येण समं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

keśavārcā gṛhe yasya na tiṣṭhati mahīpate | tasyānnaṃ na ca bhoktavyamabhakṣyeṇa samaṃ smṛtam

Translation

اے بادشاہ! جس کے گھر کیشو (کیشَو) کی پوجا قائم نہ ہو، اُس کا اناج کھانا نہیں چاہیے؛ شاستروں میں اسے ممنوعہ خوراک کے برابر بتایا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• keśavārcā: worship of Keśava
• keśavārcā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक) + arcā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (केशवस्य अर्चा)

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• yasya: of whom/whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (relative pronoun)

• na: not
• na: Modifier (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• tiṣṭhati: remains/is present
• tiṣṭhati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धाातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• mahīpate: O king
• mahīpate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahīpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• tasya: of that person
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• annam: food
• annam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Modifier (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

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

• bhoktavyam: should be eaten
• bhoktavyam: Kriya (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु) → bhoktavya (कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (तव्यत्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-भावः (ought to be eaten)

• abhakṣyeṇa: with what is inedible
• abhakṣyeṇa: Upamana/Instrument (Comparison/साधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-bhakṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• samam: equal
• samam: Predicate complement (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तुल्य-विशेषण (as equal)

• smṛtam: is said/considered
• smṛtam: Kriya (Predication/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) → smṛta (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय (is considered)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa māhātmya narration style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahīpati (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king is instructed by a sage: one house has a lit Keśava altar with tulasī and lamps; another lacks worship—its food is shown as symbolically darkened, indicating ‘abhakṣya-samatā’.

Characters & Entities

• Keśava
• Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Household life is sanctified by arcā (deity worship); without it, even ordinary acts like eating become spiritually compromised.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes Vaiṣṇava domestic worship within the Dwārakā māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Establishing and maintaining Keśava-arcā (worship of Keśava) in one’s home; guidance on avoiding food from a house lacking such worship.