Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

अग्न्याध्येयं प्रतिष्ठां च यज्ञदानव्रतानि च । वेदव्रतवृषोत्सर्गचूडाकरणमेखलाः

Transliteration

agnyādhyeyaṃ pratiṣṭhāṃ ca yajñadānavratāni ca | vedavratavṛṣotsargacūḍākaraṇamekhalāḥ

Translation

The study and service of the sacred fire, consecrations (pratiṣṭhā), sacrifices, gifts, and vows—as well as Vedic student-vows, the gifting of a bull (vṛṣotsarga), the tonsure rite (cūḍākaraṇa), and the investiture with the girdle (mekhalā)—are enumerated here as ritual acts to be undertaken according to proper rule and season.

Word by Word

• अग्न्याध्येयम्: study/recitation related to Agni (Agnyādheya/Agni-related rite)
• अग्न्याध्येयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + आध्येय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √अधि-इ/अधि-इङ् ‘अध्ययन’)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अग्नेः आध्येयम्/अग्न्याध्ययनम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• प्रतिष्ठाम्: consecration/installation
• प्रतिष्ठाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• यज्ञदानव्रतानि: sacrifices, gifts, and vows
• यज्ञदानव्रतानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (यज्ञाः च दानानि च व्रतानि च), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• वेदव्रतवृषोत्सर्गचूडाकरणमेखलाः: Veda-vow, bull-release, tonsure ceremony, and sacred girdle (etc.)
• वेदव्रतवृषोत्सर्गचूडाकरणमेखलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक) + वृषोत्सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक; वृष + उत्सर्ग) + चूडाकरण (प्रातिपदिक; चूडा + करण) + मेखला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (वेदव्रतम्, वृषोत्सर्गः, चूडाकरणम्, मेखलाः इत्यादि), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सूची-समास (enumerative)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from Purāṇic narration style within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual compendium tableau: a householder and priests near a sacred fire; nearby are symbols of pratiṣṭhā (kalasha), yajña-vedi, dāna (cow/bull), and saṃskāras (tonsure tools, mekhalā cord), all arranged as items to be performed in proper season.

Characters & Entities

• Agni
• Pratiṣṭhā
• Yajña
• Dāna
• Vrata
• Cūḍākaraṇa
• Mekhalā
• Vṛṣotsarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is expressed through a wide spectrum of rites—worship, charity, vows, and saṃskāras—each requiring fit timing and purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The catalogue appears within the Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya setting, tying ritual life to the sanctifying environment of Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It enumerates major rites (fire-rites, consecrations, yajña, dāna, vrata, and saṃskāras) under discussion for permissibility by season (notably around malamāsa rules in the surrounding verses).