Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

प्राक्षिपत्सागरे तत्र पुरुषो राजशासितः । अथोवाच स्वनगरे वचनादाहुकस्य हि

Transliteration

prākṣipatsāgare tatra puruṣo rājaśāsitaḥ | athovāca svanagare vacanādāhukasya hi

Translation

Tại đó, một người—thi hành mệnh lệnh của vua—đã bị ném xuống biển. Rồi trong chính thành mình, ông loan truyền lời ấy, vì đó là lời của Āhuka.

Word by Word

• प्राक्षिपत्: threw; cast
• प्राक्षिपत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• सागरे: in the sea
• सागरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• पुरुषः: a man
• पुरुषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• राजशासितः: ordered by the king
• राजशासितः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक) + शास् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञा शासितः = ordered by the king)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• स्वनगरे: in his own city
• स्वनगरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + नगर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वस्य नगरम्)

• वचनात्: from (the) word; by the instruction
• वचनात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/from)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान/हेतु), एकवचन

• आहुकस्य: of Āhuka
• आहुकस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Nipata (Emphasis/Cause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (causal/emphatic particle)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator in Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; traditionally Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-samudra-tīra (sea-shore of Prabhāsa)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal agent, under command, throws the powdered cursed substance into the sea; later, proclamation/announcement in the city referencing Āhuka’s words—two-scene diptych: shore and city.

Characters & Entities

• rājā (king)
• Āhuka
• sāgara (ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives often show how royal authority and public action can become instruments of fate; adherence to command and proclamation sets the stage for unfolding karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha region), the sacred coastal pilgrimage landscape praised in the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes an act under royal order rather than a vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa.