Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

एकतः क्रतवः सर्वे समाप्तवरदक्षिणाः । एकतो भयभीतस्य प्राणिनः प्राणरक्षणम् । विशेषतश्च देवानां रक्षणं बहुपुण्यदम्

Transliteration

ekataḥ kratavaḥ sarve samāptavaradakṣiṇāḥ | ekato bhayabhītasya prāṇinaḥ prāṇarakṣaṇam | viśeṣataśca devānāṃ rakṣaṇaṃ bahupuṇyadam

Translation

একদিকে উত্তম দক্ষিণাসহ সম্পূর্ণ সকল যজ্ঞ; অন্যদিকে বিপদভীত প্রাণীর প্রাণরক্ষা। আর বিশেষত দেবতাদের রক্ষা করা মহাপুণ্যদায়ক।

Word by Word

• ekataḥ: on one side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे ‘एकस्मिन् पक्षे/एकतः’

• kratavaḥ: sacrifices, rites
• kratavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन = Masculine, Nominative plural

• sarve: all
• sarve: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन = Masculine, Nominative plural; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘kratavaḥ’)

• samāpta-vara-dakṣiṇāḥ: having completed (rites) with excellent fees (dakṣiṇā)
• samāpta-vara-dakṣiṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samāpta (कृदन्त/भूतकृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक) + dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन = Masculine, Nominative plural; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (समाप्ता वरदक्षिणा येषां ते) बहुपद-विशेषणम्

• ekataḥ: on the other side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; ‘अन्यस्मिन् पक्षे’

• bhaya-bhītasya: of one frightened by fear
• bhaya-bhītasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhīta (कृदन्त/क्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन = Masculine, Genitive singular; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (भयेन भीतः)

• prāṇinaḥ: of a living being
• prāṇinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन = Masculine, Genitive singular

• prāṇa-rakṣaṇam: protection of life
• prāṇa-rakṣaṇam: Karma/Artha (Object/Result notion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ रक्ष्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन = Neuter, Nom/Acc singular; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (प्राणानां रक्षणम्)

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; ‘विशेषेण’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-संबन्ध) = conjunction ‘and’

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन = Masculine, Genitive plural

• rakṣaṇam: protection
• rakṣaṇam: Karma/Artha (Object/Result notion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ रक्ष्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter, Nom/Acc singular

• bahu-puṇya-dam: giving much merit
• bahu-puṇya-dam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + da (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √dā दा ‘to give’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter, Nom/Acc singular; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (बहु पुण्यं ददाति इति) विशेषणम् (rakṣaṇam)

Speaker

Devas (reasoning before Sāgara; contextually part of their appeal)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: on one side, blazing sacrificial altars with priests and rich dakṣiṇā; on the other, a frightened being being sheltered—visually asserting that saving life outweighs ritual grandeur.

Characters & Entities

• Kratavaḥ (sacrifices)
• Devas
• Sāgara (implied listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Compassionate protection—saving life and offering refuge—is portrayed as a supreme source of puṇya, comparable to great sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya, the ethical teaching is embedded in the tīrtha’s sacred narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a prescription but a valuation: completed sacrifices with dakṣiṇā are weighed against (and complemented by) the dharma of protecting life.