Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

त्वं पुनः कुब्जरूपश्च यज्ञपूजापरायणः । न च प्राप्नोषि वृक्षाणां शाखाग्राण्यतियत्नवान्

Transliteration

tvaṃ punaḥ kubjarūpaśca yajñapūjāparāyaṇaḥ | na ca prāpnoṣi vṛkṣāṇāṃ śākhāgrāṇyatiyatnavān

Translation

لیکن تم کُبڑا صورت والے ہو؛ یَجْن اور پوجا میں لگن رکھنے کے باوجود، بہت کوشش کے ساتھ بھی درختوں کی شاخوں کے سِروں تک نہیں پہنچ سکتے۔

Word by Word

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पुनः: again, moreover
• पुनः: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: again/further)

• कुब्ज-रूपः: having a hunchbacked form
• कुब्ज-रूपः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुब्ज (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying त्वम्)

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

• यज्ञ-पूजा-परायणः: devoted to sacrificial worship
• यज्ञ-पूजा-परायणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + पूजा (प्रातिपदिक) + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (devoted to worship in sacrifice)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वय (and/also)

• प्राप्नोषि: you obtain, reach
• प्राप्नोषि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• वृक्षाणाम्: of the trees
• वृक्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• शाखा-अग्राणि: branch-tips
• शाखा-अग्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाखा (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अति-यत्नवान्: very strenuous, making great effort
• अति-यत्नवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + यत्नवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying त्वम्)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A dvija/ṛṣi interlocutor (addressed in adjacent verses as द्विजसत्तम)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hunched devotee stands beneath sacred trees near a liṅga-shrine, stretching upward toward high branches yet unable to reach; the liṅga remains the focal point, suggesting that a small offering suffices.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Maṃkir
• Trees/branches

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes practicality: devotion is honored, yet Śiva acknowledges real limitations and guides worship accordingly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where Śiva personally addresses a devotee’s worship constraints.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pūjā using flowers from branch-tips is part of the practice; the verse highlights the devotee’s inability to procure them.