Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

ददौ च दश धर्माय कश्यपाय त्रयोदश । दिव्येन विधिना दक्षः सप्तविंशतिमिंदवे

Transliteration

dadau ca daśa dharmāya kaśyapāya trayodaśa | divyena vidhinā dakṣaḥ saptaviṃśatimiṃdave

Translation

Dakṣa gab, einem göttlichen Gebot folgend, zehn (Töchter) Dharma, dreizehn Kaśyapa und siebenundzwanzig dem Mond (Soma).

Word by Word

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय-बोधक

• दश: ten
• दश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), अव्यय-प्राय; विशेषण (कन्यकाः implied)

• धर्माय: to Dharma
• धर्माय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन

• कश्यपाय: to Kaśyapa
• कश्यपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कश्यप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्रयोदश: thirteen
• त्रयोदश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रयोदश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, अव्यय-प्राय; विशेषण (कन्यकाः implied)

• दिव्येन: by divine
• दिव्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (विधिना)

• विधिना: by the rule/method
• विधिना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दक्षः: Dakṣa
• दक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सप्तविंशतिम्: twenty-seven
• सप्तविंशतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तविंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्या-शब्दः (27)

• इन्दवे: to the Moon (Indu)
• इन्दवे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (narrator)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dakṣa performs a solemn bestowal: ten daughters to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa, and twenty-seven to Soma—symbolizing ethics, progeny, and lunar time.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Dharma
• Kaśyapa
• Soma (Indu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma in Purāṇas is sustained through divinely ordered relationships—cosmic harmony (ṛta) is mirrored in social and ritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it supplies cosmological background for the chapter’s kṣetra-focused teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Only an implied ‘divine rite/ordinance’ (divyena vidhinā); no specific vrata, dāna, or snāna is stated.