Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

यद्गीतं प्रवरं लोके अक्षराणां मनीषिभिः । एकोनविंशं मात्राया अक्षरं तत्प्रकीर्त्तितम्

Transliteration

yadgītaṃ pravaraṃ loke akṣarāṇāṃ manīṣibhiḥ | ekonaviṃśaṃ mātrāyā akṣaraṃ tatprakīrttitam

Translation

That which the wise have sung as the foremost among syllables in the world is declared to be the syllable consisting of nineteen mātrās, the units of prosodic measure.

Word by Word

• yat: which/that (thing)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• gītam: sung/recited
• gītam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √gai (धाातु) + kta (क्त) → gīta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• pravaram: excellent, best
• pravaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pravara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• akṣarāṇām: of syllables/letters
• akṣarāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• manīṣibhiḥ: by the sages/wise ones
• manīṣibhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manīṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; करण/कर्तृ-हेतु (agent in passive)

• ekonaviṃśam: nineteen (one less than twenty)
• ekonaviṃśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka + ūna + viṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; संख्याविशेषण; (एकेन ऊनं विंशतिः) = 19

• mātrāyāḥ: of a mātrā (measure/beat)
• mātrāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• akṣaram: a syllable/letter
• akṣaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• prakīrttitam: is proclaimed/declared
• prakīrttitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √kīrt (धातु) + kta (क्त) → prakīrtita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; वाक्ये विधेय-भाव (predicate participle)

Speaker

Unknown (narrative voice within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative scene where the ‘foremost akṣara’ is visualized as a radiant seed-syllable, surrounded by a ring of nineteen mātrā-marks (like beads or rays). Sages (mānīṣibhiḥ) appear singing/intoning it, while the pilgrim listens in stillness near the sacred waters.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sound is treated as a supreme spiritual principle; the ‘best syllable’ embodies concentrated potency recognized by the wise.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, within whose māhātmya the excellence of mantra and syllable is emphasized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A doctrinal identification of a ‘foremost syllable’ measured in mātrās, implying careful mantra recitation and metrical awareness.