Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

तालशब्दैस्तथा बन्धैः पुस्तकानां च वाचकैः । एवं रात्र्यां तु शेषायां यावत्तिष्ठति तत्र वै

Transliteration

tālaśabdaistathā bandhaiḥ pustakānāṃ ca vācakaiḥ | evaṃ rātryāṃ tu śeṣāyāṃ yāvattiṣṭhati tatra vai

Translation

تال کی آوازوں، بندوں اور نغمہ آمیز پیمانوں، اور کتابوں کے بلند خوانوں کے ساتھ—یوں رات کے باقی حصے تک وہ یقیناً وہیں ٹھہرا رہا۔

Word by Word

• ताल: cymbal/beat (tāla)
• ताल: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, समासे पूर्वपद

• शब्दैः: with sounds
• शब्दैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• तथा: also; likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक

• बन्धैः: with bindings/fastenings
• बन्धैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• पुस्तकानाम्: of books
• पुस्तकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुस्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• वाचकैः: by readers/reciters
• वाचकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाचक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner)

• रात्र्याम्: in the night
• रात्र्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधसूचक (particle)

• शेषायाम्: in the remaining (part)
• शेषायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (remaining)

• यावत्: as long as; until
• यावत्: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-बोधक (until/as long as)

• तिष्ठति: stands; remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/खलु-अर्थे (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Unspecified first-person narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya (deductively: the thief-speaker continuing the account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the Purāṇic frame (Skanda Purāṇa’s dialogic setting)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a lamp-lit temple at Prabhāsa, devotees keep time with tāla (hand-claps/cymbals), singers render compositions, and learned readers recite from palm-leaf books through the remaining night.

Characters & Entities

• Śivarātri vigil (context)
• Reciters (pustaka-vācaka)
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional arts and scripture-recitation sustain vigilance and focus, turning the night into an offering rather than ordinary time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, depicted as hosting night-long devotional recitation and music on Śivarātri.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Continuing jāgaraṇa through rhythmic tāla, devotional compositions, and public reading/recitation from texts.