Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

अष्टम्यां च चतुर्द्दश्यां दध्ना संस्नापयेद्यदि । स ब्राह्मणश्चतुर्वेदो जायते नात्र संशयः

Transliteration

aṣṭamyāṃ ca caturddaśyāṃ dadhnā saṃsnāpayedyadi | sa brāhmaṇaścaturvedo jāyate nātra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

If on the Aṣṭamī and on the Caturdaśī one bathes the Lord with curd, then one is born a brāhmaṇa, versed in the four Vedas—of this there is no doubt.

Word by Word

• अष्टम्याम्: on the eighth (tithi)
• अष्टम्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth (tithi)
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• दध्ना: with curd
• दध्ना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• सम्-स्नापयेत्: should perform abhiṣeka / bathe (the deity/liṅga)
• सम्-स्नापयेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + स्ना (धातु) (णिच् causative: स्नापय)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: ‘cause to bathe/ablute’)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तसूचक (conditional particle)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ब्राह्मणः: a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate noun)

• चतुर्-वेदः: knower/possessor of the four Vedas
• चतुर्-वेदः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास; विशेषणम् (qualifier of ब्राह्मणः)

• जायते: is born / becomes
• जायते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• अत्र: here/in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (here)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Predicate/भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘न’ इत्यनेन निषिद्धः (no doubt)

Speaker

Śiva (in dialogue with Devī/Pārvatī, inferred)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Somnātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two lunar nights marked on a ritual calendar—Aṣṭamī and Caturdaśī—while a devotee pours thick white curd over the liṅga; in the background, symbolic imagery of Vedic study: palm-leaf manuscripts, a teacher’s seat, and a sacred thread, indicating the promised birth as a learned brāhmaṇa.

Characters & Entities

• Aṣṭamī
• Caturdaśī
• Dadhibhiṣeka (curd ablution)
• Caturveda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes that sincere ritual devotion at a great kṣetra shapes future spiritual capacities and noble birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra’s liṅga, where scheduled abhiṣeka is said to grant exceptional spiritual outcomes.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abhiṣeka (ritual bathing) with curd on Aṣṭamī and Caturdaśī.