Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

घृतक्षीरवहा नद्यो दधिपायसकर्दमाः । पक्वान्नानां फलानां च राशयः पर्वतोपमाः

Transliteration

ghṛtakṣīravahā nadyo dadhipāyasakardamāḥ | pakvānnānāṃ phalānāṃ ca rāśayaḥ parvatopamāḥ

Translation

Rivers flowed with ghee and milk; their mud was of curd and sweet payasa. Heaps of cooked foods and fruits rose up like mountains.

Word by Word

• घृतक्षीरवहाः: carrying ghee and milk
• घृतक्षीरवहाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घृत + क्षीर + वह (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: 'घृतं क्षीरं च वहन्ति' (carrying ghee and milk)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• दधिपायसकर्दमाः: having curd-and-pāyasa as mire
• दधिपायसकर्दमाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दधि + पायस + कर्दम (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'दधि-पायस-रूपः कर्दमः' (mud/slush of curd and rice-pudding)

• पक्वान्नानाम्: of cooked foods
• पक्वान्नानाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्व + अन्न (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: 'पक्वम् अन्नम्'

• फलानाम्: of fruits
• फलानाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

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

• राशयः: heaps
• राशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• पर्वतोपमाः: like mountains
• पर्वतोपमाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर्वत + उपम (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'पर्वत-उपम' = mountain-like

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from Purāṇic narration style within Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal festival landscape: streams shimmering like ghee and milk, banks soft with curd-and-kheer-like mud; towering heaps of cooked rice, sweets, and fruits arranged like small mountains around the yajña pavilion.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Where dharma is performed in a supremely holy place, the Purāṇas depict abundance as a sign of divine approval and communal nourishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, in the context of its grand yajña-festival.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rule, but the imagery aligns with yajña hospitality—feeding and offering in great plenty.