Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

भगवञ्छृणु नो वाक्यमस्माकं तु भयावहम् । निमंत्रिताः स्म सर्वे वा इल्वलेन वयं प्रभो

Transliteration

bhagavañchṛṇu no vākyamasmākaṃ tu bhayāvaham | nimaṃtritāḥ sma sarve vā ilvalena vayaṃ prabho

Translation

Bạch Đấng Thế Tôn, xin lắng nghe lời chúng con, vì đối với chúng con, lời ấy đầy nỗi kinh hoàng. Muôn tâu Chúa Tể, tất cả chúng con đều đã được Ilvala mời đến.

Word by Word

• bhagavan: O Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative); एकवचन

• śṛṇu: hear, listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• naḥ: our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive) बहुवचन (enclitic) = 'of us/our'

• vākyam: statement, words
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• asmākam: of us
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle) = contrastive particle

• bhayāvaham: fear-bringing, terrifying
• bhayāvaham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaha (प्रातिपदिक; √vah (वह्) with ā-; 'bringing')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying vākyam)

• nimaṃtritāḥ: invited
• nimaṃtritāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni + √mantr (मन्त्र्) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त = 'invited'

• sma: indeed/just (past marker)
• sma: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्म-निपात) = past/recall particle, often with perfect/past sense

• sarve: all
• sarve: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying implied 'we')

• vā: or / indeed
• vā: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प/particle) = disjunctive/emphatic 'or/indeed'

• ilvalena: by Ilvala
• ilvalena: Karana (Instrument/Agentive instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ilvala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); एकवचन

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन

• prabho: O master
• prabho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: अगस्त्याश्रम (कथात्मक)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: देवी

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmanas stand before Agastya with folded hands, faces anxious; the lead speaker addresses him as ‘Bhagavan’, confessing fear and Ilvala’s invitation.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya
• Ilvala
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The faithful openly confess danger to a sage, showing humility and reliance on dharmic guardianship rather than retaliation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The discourse is set within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya; the immediate locus is Agastya’s āśrama as a dharmic refuge.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an appeal for protection in response to a dangerous invitation.