Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

अधिकृत्याब्रवीत्सप्तकल्पवृत्तं मुनिव्रताः । तन्मात्स्यमिति जानीध्वं सहस्राणि चतुदर्श

Transliteration

adhikṛtyābravītsaptakalpavṛttaṃ munivratāḥ | tanmātsyamiti jānīdhvaṃ sahasrāṇi catudarśa

Translation

يا أيها الحكماء ذوو النذور الطاهرة، لقد تكلّم عن أحداث سبعة كالبات؛ فاعلموا أن ذلك يُعرَف بـ«ماتسيا» (Mātsya)، وهو مؤلَّف من أربعة عشر ألف بيت.

Word by Word

• अधिकृत्य: having taken up; concerning
• अधिकृत्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier of action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधि + कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘अधिकृत्य’ = having taken up/with reference to

• अब्रवीत्: said; spoke
• अब्रवीत्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• सप्तकल्पवृत्तम्: the account of seven kalpas
• सप्तकल्पवृत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + वृत्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सप्तानां कल्पानां वृत्तम्)

• मुनिव्रताः: the sages of ascetic vows
• मुनिव्रताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मधारयः (मुनयः इव व्रतं येषाम् / मुनिव्रताः = ascetic-vowed sages)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• मात्स्यम्: (the) Mātsya (pertaining to the Fish incarnation)
• मात्स्यम्: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मात्स्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचक (quotative particle)

• जानीध्वम्: know; understand
• जानीध्वम्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma/Pramana (Measure/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• चतुदर्श: fourteen
• चतुदर्श: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular) (पाठभेद/लोपः: ‘चतुदर्श’ = ‘चतुर्दश’); द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारि + दश)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (explicit vocative ‘munivratāḥ’ supports this)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Munivratāḥ (sages of holy vows)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-teacher addresses ‘munivratāḥ’ with a manuscript labeled ‘Mātsya’ and a visible count ‘14,000’; behind them, a wheel of time showing seven kalpas as concentric rings.

Characters & Entities

• Mātsya
• Kalpa
• Ṛṣis (munivratāḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas function as organized repositories of cosmic memory, mapping dharma through kalpa-by-kalpa narration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra remains the narrative container; this line serves a Purāṇic identification rather than a tīrtha description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it identifies the Mātsya account by its scope and extent.