Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

इयं मे दयिता साध्वी प्राणेभ्योऽपि गरीयसी । मम देहं समादाय प्रविष्टा हव्यवाहनम्

Transliteration

iyaṃ me dayitā sādhvī prāṇebhyo'pi garīyasī | mama dehaṃ samādāya praviṣṭā havyavāhanam

Translation

这位我所挚爱的妻子，贤淑贞洁，甚至比生命更珍贵；她抱起我的遗身，投入神圣之火（葬火）之中。

Word by Word

• इयम्: this (woman)
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (feminine nominative singular: this)

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (genitive singular: of me/my)

• दयिता: beloved (wife)
• दयिता: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दयित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (feminine nominative singular)

• साध्वी: virtuous
• साध्वी: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साध्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying दयिता/इयम्)

• प्राणेभ्यः: than (my) lives/breaths
• प्राणेभ्यः: Apadana (Ablative/comparison base/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (masculine ablative plural: than life-breaths)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (also/even)

• गरीयसी: dearer/more important
• गरीयसी: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) → गरीयस् (तुलनात्मक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (feminine nominative singular); तुलनात्मक-रूप (comparative: more weighty/dearer)

• मम: of me/my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (genitive singular: of me)

• देहम्: body
• देहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine accusative singular)

• समादाय: having taken
• समादाय: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + दा (धातु) → समादाय (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund): having taken up/withdrawing (taking along)

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + विश् (धातु) → प्रविष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि-भावे (entered)

• हव्यवाहनम्: the fire (carrier of oblations)
• हव्यवाहनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हव्य + वाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine accusative singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हव्यं वहति इति) — अग्निः

Speaker

Rājā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Somnātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottamas / sages (addressed as ‘best of twice-born’ in the passage cluster)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A virtuous wife, composed yet grief-stricken, lifts or supports her husband’s body and steps into the blazing funeral fire; priests and elders stand at a distance; the sky is dusk-red, with Prabhāsa’s sacred aura implied.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havyavāhana)
• Wife (sādhvī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It portrays intense spousal fidelity and virtue as understood in the Purāṇic narrative frame, linking dharma to end-of-life conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode belongs to the Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya narrative cycle, though this verse focuses on the personal conclusion rather than a specific new tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Entry into the funeral fire is described as an event in the story (havyavāhana); it is not framed here as a general prescription.