Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

भिक्षार्थमागतस्तत्र लोकैरन्यैः समन्वितः । तेन भिक्षार्जितं तत्र सक्तूनां कुडवं नृप

Transliteration

bhikṣārthamāgatastatra lokairanyaiḥ samanvitaḥ | tena bhikṣārjitaṃ tatra saktūnāṃ kuḍavaṃ nṛpa

Translation

O König, er kam dorthin, um Almosen zu erbitten, begleitet von anderen Leuten; und durch dieses Betteln erlangte er dort nur ein Maß, ein kuḍava, an saktu (Mehl aus geröstetem Korn).

Word by Word

• भिक्षार्थम्: for alms
• भिक्षार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भिक्षा-अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; उद्देश्यवाचक-अव्यय (for the sake of alms)

• आगतः: having come
• आगतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु) + क्त → आगत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे (he having come)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• लोकैः: with people
• लोकैः: Sahakari (Association/सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• अन्यैः: other
• अन्यैः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (लोकैः)

• समन्वितः: accompanied, attended
• समन्वितः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-अन्-वि-इ (धातु/अन्वि) + क्त → समन्वित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (आगतः/सः)

• तेन: by him/with that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• भिक्षार्जितम्: earned by begging
• भिक्षार्जितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिक्षा-अर्जित (प्रातिपदिक) [अर्ज् (धातु) + क्त]
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘भिक्षया अर्जितम्’—विशेषण (कुडवम्)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• सक्तूनाम्: of parched flour
• सक्तूनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सक्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• कुडवम्: a kuḍava measure
• कुडवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुडव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya (narrating to a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A diseased mendicant arrives with a small crowd; hands extended for alms; someone offers a tiny measure of saktu in a simple vessel, emphasizing scarcity and vulnerability.

Characters & Entities

• nṛpa (king)
• saktu (parched flour)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a very small possession, gained in hardship, can become a seed of great merit when connected to dharma and sacred intention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The wider passage belongs to Arbuda Khaṇḍa (Mount Arbuda/Abu region) within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, setting up the later praise of worship near Acaleśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite yet—this verse establishes the humble acquisition of saktu that later becomes the focus of saktu-dāna.