Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

अपि स्यात्स कुलेऽस्माकं गोष्पदे दत्तदीपकः । आकल्पकालिका दीप्तिस्तेनाऽस्माकं भविष्यति

Transliteration

api syātsa kule'smākaṃ goṣpade dattadīpakaḥ | ākalpakālikā dīptistenā'smākaṃ bhaviṣyati

Translation

Wenn es doch in unserem Geschlecht jemanden gäbe, der in Goṣpada auch nur ein einziges Lämpchen darbringt! Durch diese Tat wird für unsere Familie ein dauernder Glanz entstehen, der bis zum Ende des Kalpa währt.

Word by Word

• api: perhaps
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना-अव्ययम् (perhaps/even)

• syāt: may there be
• syāt: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्

• kule: in the family
• kule: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्

• asmākam: of us / our
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम्

• goṣpade: at Goṣpada
• goṣpade: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: goṣpada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्

• datta-dīpakaḥ: one who has offered a lamp
• datta-dīpakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: datta (√dā धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त) + dīpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; क्त-पूर्वपद-तत्पुरुषः (दत्तः दीपकः—‘a lamp that has been given’)

• ā-kalpa-kālikā: lasting till the end of the kalpa
• ā-kalpa-kālikā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā (उपसर्ग) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kālika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (qualifying dīptiḥ); अर्थः—‘आकल्पपर्यन्तं कालिका’ (lasting until the end of an aeon)

• dīptiḥ: radiance, light
• dīptiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्

• tena: by him / through that
• tena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Means/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• asmākam: for us / of us
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम्

• bhaviṣyati: will be
• bhaviṣyati: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa narration style in māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Goṣpada

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dusk in Goṣpada, a pilgrim places a small clay lamp; the flame expands into a symbolic pillar of light reaching skyward, with ancestral figures receiving its glow.

Characters & Entities

• Goṣpada (tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a small offering like lamp-giving at a powerful tīrtha can generate long-lasting merit that uplifts one’s entire lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Goṣpada-tīrtha within Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Somnāth/Prabhāsa sacred region) is praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dīpa-dāna—offering a lamp at Goṣpada.