Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

क्षेत्रपालो महादेवि यतो दुंदुभिनिःस्वनः । तत्र स्नात्वा महाकुण्डे यः संतर्पयते पितॄन्

Transliteration

kṣetrapālo mahādevi yato duṃdubhiniḥsvanaḥ | tatra snātvā mahākuṇḍe yaḥ saṃtarpayate pitṝn

Translation

O große Göttin, wo der Klang der Duṃdubhi vernommen wird, dort weilt Kṣetrapāla, der Hüter des heiligen Ortes. Wer dort im großen Teich badet und den Pitṛs (Ahnen) Tarpaṇa darbringt, um sie zu sättigen…

Word by Word

• क्षेत्रपालः: the guardian of the sacred place
• क्षेत्रपालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (क्षेत्रस्य पालः)

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यतः: from where; because of which
• यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेतुवाचक/अपादानार्थक (from where/therefore)

• दुंदुभिनिःस्वनः: the sound of a drum
• दुंदुभिनिःस्वनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुंदुभि (प्रातिपदिक) + निःस्वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दुंदुभेः निःस्वनः)

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

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable participle)

• महाकुण्डे: in the great pond
• महाकुण्डे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (महৎ कुण्डम्)

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• संतर्पयते: satiates, offers satisfaction to
• संतर्पयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु) + सम् (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• पितॄन्: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) addressing Mahādevī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākuṇḍa; Duṃdubhi-tīrtha; Kṣetrapāla-sthāna

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a spot resonant with a mystical drum-sound, the Kṣetrapāla stands sentinel; a pilgrim bathes in the Mahākuṇḍa and then offers tarpaṇa to pitṛs with cupped hands, water and sesame, under the guardian’s watch.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣetrapāla
• Mahādevī
• Duṃdubhi
• Mahākuṇḍa
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is completed by responsibility: bathing at the tīrtha and honoring ancestors sustains dharma across generations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Duṃdubhi-associated area with the Kṣetrapāla, and the Mahākuṇḍa in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) in the Mahākuṇḍa and Pitṛ-tarpaṇa (satisfying the ancestors) at that tīrtha.