Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

विनाशं दुःखशोकार्तः करुणं पर्यदेवयत् । स ज्ञात्वा पापमात्मानं स्त्रीहत्यासुविदूषितम्

Transliteration

vināśaṃ duḥkhaśokārtaḥ karuṇaṃ paryadevayat | sa jñātvā pāpamātmānaṃ strīhatyāsuvidūṣitam

Translation

为忧苦悲恸所逼，他凄然哀号自身之败亡；因他知自己罪业深重，且被杀害妇人之罪所严重玷污。

Word by Word

• vināśam: destruction, ruin
• vināśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vināśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• duḥkha-śoka-ārtaḥ: afflicted by sorrow and grief
• duḥkha-śoka-ārtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + śoka (प्रातिपदिक) + ārta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — दुःखशोकाभ्याम् आर्तः

• karuṇam: piteously, compassionately
• karuṇam: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: karuṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• paryadevayat: lamented, wailed
• paryadevayat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari + √dev (देव्/दिव्) (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्गः परि-

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

• jñātvā: having known/realized
• jñātvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (ज्ञा) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having known’

• pāpam: sinful
• pāpam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (आत्मानम्)

• ātmānam: himself (the self)
• ātmānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• strī-hatyā-su-vidūṣitam: thoroughly tainted by the killing of a woman
• strī-hatyā-su-vidūṣitam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + hatyā (प्रातिपदिक) + su- (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + vidūṣita (कृदन्त, √dūṣ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — स्त्रीहत्यया सुविदूषितम् (अत्यन्तं दूषितम्); विशेषणम् (आत्मानम्)

Speaker

Deductive: Skanda (narrating within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s Arbuda Khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king collapses into lamentation, hands raised or clutching his head, acknowledging his ruin and the stain of killing a woman; the court stands silent.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True purification begins when one honestly recognizes one’s wrongdoing and turns toward remorse and atonement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it emphasizes the moral crisis that leads to later pilgrimage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not yet; the verse focuses on confession-like self-recognition of sin.