Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

तं पर्यवेषद्दैत्येंद्र इल्वलः प्रहसन्निव । शतहस्तप्रमाणेन राशिमन्नस्य सोऽकरोत्

Transliteration

taṃ paryaveṣaddaityeṃdra ilvalaḥ prahasanniva | śatahastapramāṇena rāśimannasya so'karot

Translation

پھر دَیتیہوں کا سردار اِلول ہنسی میں جیسے تمسخر کر رہا ہو، اس کی خدمت میں لگا، اور اس نے سو ہاتھ کے پیمانے کے برابر کھانے کا ایک بڑا ڈھیر بنا دیا۔

Word by Word

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• paryaveṣat: served, attended
• paryaveṣat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √viṣ (धातु) उपसर्ग-परि +
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; 'served/attended'

• daitya-indra: O lord of the Daityas
• daitya-indra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• ilvalaḥ: Ilvala
• ilvalaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ilvala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• prahasan: laughing
• prahasan: Kriya (Participial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √has (धातु) उपसर्ग-प्र +
• Form: शतृ (Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'laughing'

• iva: as if
• iva: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानसूचक (particle of comparison)

• śata-hasta-pramāṇena: by a measure of a hundred cubits/hands
• śata-hasta-pramāṇena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक) + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; करण; 'with a measure of a hundred hands'

• rāśim: a heap
• rāśim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• annasya: of food
• annasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• akarot: made
• akarot: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातu)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ilvala, the daitya-chief, smiling slyly, arranges an immense mound of food before the sage—an exaggerated heap suggesting both opulence and danger.

Characters & Entities

• Ilvala
• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma often hides behind showy offerings; the wise perceive intention, not merely abundance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, the tīrtha-stage for this dharma-victory narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes the demonic hospitality and the scale of the offering.