Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

दश पूर्वान्भविष्यांश्च तथात्मानं नृपोत्तम । उद्धरेच्छ्रद्धयायुक्तस्तत्र दानेन मानवः

Transliteration

daśa pūrvānbhaviṣyāṃśca tathātmānaṃ nṛpottama | uddharecchraddhayāyuktastatra dānena mānavaḥ

Translation

O best of kings, a person endowed with faith, by making gifts there, rescues ten forebears, ten future descendants, and also himself.

Word by Word

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; द्वितीया-बहुवचनार्थे (ten, qualifying plural object)

• pūrvān: ancestors/forefathers
• pūrvān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• bhaviṣyān: future descendants
• bhaviṣyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaviṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• tathā: also
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण ("likewise/also")

• ātmānam: oneself
• ātmānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nṛpottama: O best of kings
• nṛpottama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + uttama (प्रातिपदिक; नृप + उत्तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः

• uddharet: should uplift/rescue
• uddharet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√hṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śraddhayā-yuktaḥ: endowed with faith
• śraddhayā-yuktaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śraddhā + yukta (प्रातिपदिक; श्रद्धा + युक्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (श्रद्धया युक्तः = endowed with faith)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• dānena: by giving/charity
• dānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• mānavaḥ: a man
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (as presented in Arbudakhaṇḍa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa-uttama (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A kingly donor at a sacred kṣetra offers gifts with folded hands; behind him, a luminous ancestral line rises from shadow to light, while future descendants appear as a blossoming genealogical tree.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Kulasantāraṇa Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna performed with śraddhā at a sacred place is a lineage-uplifting dharma, linking personal merit with ancestral and future welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Kulasantāraṇa Tīrtha context introduced in the previous verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform dāna (charitable giving) at the tīrtha with faith to uplift ancestors, descendants, and oneself.