Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

अथ पाटयतः काष्ठं जाता शिरसि वेदना । काष्ठभारं क्षणात्त्यक्त्वा वटशाखावलंबितः

Transliteration

atha pāṭayataḥ kāṣṭhaṃ jātā śirasi vedanā | kāṣṭhabhāraṃ kṣaṇāttyaktvā vaṭaśākhāvalaṃbitaḥ

Translation

پھر جب وہ لکڑی چیر رہا تھا تو اس کے سر میں درد اٹھا۔ فوراً لکڑیوں کا بوجھ چھوڑ کر وہ برگد کی شاخ کا سہارا لے کر ٹیک گیا۔

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक

• पाटयतः: while (he) was splitting/cutting
• पाटयतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पट्/पाटय् (धातु; णिच् causative)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle) from causative पाटयति; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; 'of (him) who was splitting/cutting'

• काष्ठम्: wood
• काष्ठम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• जाता: arose
• जाता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; 'arisen/occurred' (agreeing with वेदना)

• शिरसि: in the head
• शिरसि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• वेदना: pain
• वेदना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• काष्ठभारम्: the load of wood
• काष्ठभारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + भार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• क्षणात्: in a moment
• क्षणात्: Apadana (Source/limit/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; अवधी/कालार्थ (within a moment/from a moment)

• त्यक्त्वा: having dropped/abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); 'having abandoned'

• वटशाखावलंबितः: hanging from a banyan branch
• वटशाखावलंबितः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वट (प्रातिपदिक) + शाखा (प्रातिपदिक) + अवलम्बित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; अव + लम्ब् धातु)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (वटस्य शाखायाम् अवलम्बितः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (of the man)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaṭa-sthala (banyan spot) within Prabhāsa narrative frame

Type: kund/ghat/cave/peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Satyavān, mid-task, is struck by sharp head pain; he drops the wood bundle and staggers to a great banyan, gripping a low branch for support—forest light dimming as the pivotal moment arrives.

Characters & Entities

• Satyavān
• vaṭa (banyan tree)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The body’s frailty reveals the certainty of kāla; awareness of impermanence urges one toward dharma and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

While the immediate scene is a forest and a banyan tree, the narration remains within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya’s sacred frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the physical onset that precedes the climactic dharmic encounter.