Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

अथ दृष्ट्वा महादेवः सतीं प्राणैर्विना स्थिताम् । अवमानात्तथाऽत्मानं त्यक्त्वा मत्वा कपालिनम्

Transliteration

atha dṛṣṭvā mahādevaḥ satīṃ prāṇairvinā sthitām | avamānāttathā'tmānaṃ tyaktvā matvā kapālinam

Translation

پھر مہادیو نے ستی کو بے جان پڑا دیکھا۔ اہانت کو دل میں لے کر، اپنے آپ کو کپال دھاری (ہیبت ناک ورت کی نشانی) سمجھا اور معمول کی خودداری ترک کر دی۔

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्ययम् (then/thereupon)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having seen’

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• महादेवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• सतीम्: Sati
• सतीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• प्राणैः: with life-breaths
• प्राणैः: Sahacarya/Viśeṣaṇa (Accompaniment qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• विना: without
• विना: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: वियोगार्थक-अव्ययम् (preposition ‘without’), तृतीया-सह (governs instrumental)

• स्थिताम्: lying/standing (being)
• स्थिताम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘standing/being’

• अवमानात्: from insult
• अवमानात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवमान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (Ablative/5th), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• तथा: thus
• तथा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारार्थक-अव्ययम् (adverb ‘thus/so’)

• आत्मानम्: himself
• आत्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having abandoned’

• मत्वा: having thought
• मत्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having considered/thinking’

• कपालिनम्: Kapālin (skull-bearer; Śiva)
• कपालिनम्: Karma (Object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपालिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣi/kingly interlocutors typical of Māhātmya frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahādeva beholds Satī lifeless; his face shifts from stunned grief to terrible resolve, adopting the kapālin aspect—matted locks, ash-smeared body, skull-emblem—while the world darkens in sympathy.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Satī
• Kapālin (skull-bearer aspect)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Insult to the sacred leads to cosmic rupture; Śiva’s fierce vow-forms arise to restore dharma when devotion is violated.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader glorification is of Prabhāsa-kṣetra via its Māhātmya, which situates major Shaiva events within its sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse signals Śiva’s transition to a fierce vow-aspect (Kapālin) in response to adharma.