Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

आश्रमैर्विविधाकारैर्यतिभिर्ब्रह्मचारिभिः । वानप्रस्थैर्गृहस्थैश्च वेदकर्मपरायणैः

Transliteration

āśramairvividhākārairyatibhirbrahmacāribhiḥ | vānaprasthairgṛhasthaiśca vedakarmaparāyaṇaiḥ

Translation

亦非凭借种种形态的住期（āśrama）生活——无论出家遁世者（yati）与梵行者（brahmacārin），抑或林栖者（vānaprastha）与居家者（gṛhastha）——纵然专志于吠陀仪轨与本分，也未必能得。

Word by Word

• आश्रमैः: by āśramas/stages of life
• आश्रमैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• विविधाकारैः: of various forms
• विविधाकारैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविधाकार (प्रातिपदिक; विविध + आकार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying आश्रमैः)

• यतिभिः: by ascetics
• यतिभिः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्मचारिभिः: by brahmacārins (students)
• ब्रह्मचारिभिः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्म + चारिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• वानप्रस्थैः: by forest-dwellers (vānaprasthas)
• वानप्रस्थैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वानप्रस्थ (प्रातिपदिक; वन + प्रस्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• गृहस्थैः: by householders
• गृहस्थैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहस्थ (प्रातिपदिक; गृह + स्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• वेदकर्मपरायणैः: devoted to Vedic rites
• वेदकर्मपरायणैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद + कर्म + परायण (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the preceding groups)

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Devī/Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four āśrama figures in one composition: a student with staff and waterpot, a householder with ritual tray, a forest-dweller with bark garments, and a renunciant with daṇḍa—each facing toward the unseen sanctum of Someśvara.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Pārvatī)
• Āśrama
• Brahmacārin
• Vānaprastha
• Gṛhastha
• Vedic karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even impeccably lived social-religious duties across all āśramas do not automatically grant the supreme attainment without the decisive role of sacred devotion tied to the kṣetra and its Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where Someśa/Somānātha is praised as granting the otherwise hard-to-reach supreme state.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of Vedic rites (veda-karma) and adherence to āśrama-dharma (brahmacarya, gṛhastha duties, vānaprastha discipline, and yati renunciation).