Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

सुहालीआ वत्सं वै प्रोक्तं गोत्राणि यथाक्रमम् । मया प्रोक्तानि चैवात्र स्वस्थानानि यथाक्रमम्

Transliteration

suhālīā vatsaṃ vai proktaṃ gotrāṇi yathākramam | mayā proktāni caivātra svasthānāni yathākramam

Translation

Wahrlich sind ‘Suhālīā’ und ‘Vatsa’ genannt worden, und die Gotras in ihrer rechten Reihenfolge. Auch hier habe ich der Ordnung gemäß ihre jeweiligen Wohn- und Siedlungsstätten verkündet.

Word by Word

• सुहालीआ: Suhālīā (name)
• सुहालीआ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुहालीआ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• वत्सम्: Vatsa (name/lineage)
• वत्सम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/particle (emphasis)

• प्रोक्तम्: was declared/said
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriyā (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘said/declared’

• गोत्राणि: clans/gotras
• गोत्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यथाक्रमम्: in due order
• यथाक्रमम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + क्रम (अव्ययीभाव-समास)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• प्रोक्तानि: were declared
• प्रोक्तानि: Kriyā (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; ‘said/declared’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: just/indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/particle (restriction/emphasis)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• स्वस्थानानि: their own places/abodes
• स्वस्थानानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + स्थान (प्रातिपदिक); स्वस्थान (समास-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (स्वस्य स्थानानि)

• यथाक्रमम्: in due order
• यथाक्रमम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + क्रम (अव्ययीभाव-समास)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual: a Purāṇic narrator listing gotras/pravara and settlements; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇyaka (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-narrator calmly recites a register of clans and their settlements; palm-leaf manuscript, stylus, and a stylized map/forest backdrop suggest ‘Dharmāraṇyaka’ as a sacred administrative memory.

Characters & Entities

• Vatsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is preserved through orderly transmission—lineage (gotra) and rightful settlement (svasthāna) are remembered as part of sacred tradition.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is Dharmāraṇya (a sacred forest-region) within the Brāhma Khaṇḍa; the verse supports its sacred social-geography rather than naming a single tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the focus is on authoritative enumeration of gotras and their established places.