Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

यस्मात्पापमते क्रूरं त्वया वै वञ्चिता वयम् । मांसस्य भक्षणात्तस्मादपेयस्त्वं भविष्यसि

Transliteration

yasmātpāpamate krūraṃ tvayā vai vañcitā vayam | māṃsasya bhakṣaṇāttasmādapeyastvaṃ bhaviṣyasi

Translation

اے گناہ نیت ظالم! ہم یقیناً تیرے ہاتھوں دھوکا کھا گئے؛ اس گوشت خوری کے سبب تُو ‘اپَیَہ’ ہو جائے گا، یعنی تیرا پانی پینے کے لائق نہ رہے گا۔

Word by Word

• yasmāt: because
• yasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘because’

• pāpa-mate: O evil-minded one
• pāpa-mate: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + mati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारयभावे): ‘पापा मतिः यस्य’/‘पापविषया मतिः’; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/8th), एकवचन; (हे) पापमते

• krūram: O cruel one
• krūram: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (addressing): ‘O cruel one’

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karaṇa/Kartṛ (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), निश्चयार्थ

• vañcitāḥ: deceived
• vañcitāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vañc (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• vayam: we
• vayam: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• māṃsasya: of meat
• māṃsasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• bhakṣaṇāt: from eating
• bhakṣaṇāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √bhakṣ (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Therefore)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘therefore/from that’

• apeyaḥ: not fit to be drunk
• apeyaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- + peya (प्रातिपदिक; √pā (धातु) ‘to drink’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निषेध ‘a-’: ‘not drinkable/untouchable to drink’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhaviṣyasi: will become
• bhaviṣyasi: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (issuing the curse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (specific jalāśaya implied)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer, unspecified

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A condemning figure or collective pronouncing a curse upon a water-source, declaring it ‘apeya’; the water darkens symbolically while the sacred coast remains visible.

Characters & Entities

• Ocean (Samudra)
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Deceit that leads others into adharma results in a lasting loss of purity and social-spiritual acceptance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the sanctity of waters and the ethics of pilgrimage conduct are highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly concerns water-use norms: the curse renders the ocean’s water ‘apeya’ (not for drinking).