Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 140

Devanagari script

न सस्यानि न गोरक्षं न कृषिर्न वणिक्पथः

Transliteration

na sasyāni na gorakṣaṃ na kṛṣirna vaṇikpathaḥ

Translation

No había cosechas, ni resguardo del ganado, ni agricultura, ni rutas de comercio.

Word by Word

• न: no; not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• सस्यानि: crops; grains
• सस्यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• न: nor
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• गोरक्षम्: cattle-keeping; protection of cows
• गोरक्षम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + रक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘गवां रक्षम्’ (cow-protection/cattle-keeping)

• न: nor
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• कृषिः: agriculture; ploughing
• कृषिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• न: nor
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• वणिक्पथः: trade route; merchants' path
• वणिक्पथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वणिक् (प्रातिपदिक) + पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘वणिजां पथः’ (merchant-route/trade-route)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) as narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A landscape without fields, granaries, cowherds, or roads; people as small groups foraging; cattle unherded; no caravans or market paths.

Characters & Entities

• Sasya (crops)
• Go (cattle)
• Kṛṣi (agriculture)
• Vaṇik (merchant)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prosperity is not automatic; it manifests when dharma establishes systems—food, care of animals, cultivation, and ethical exchange.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the Māhātmya setting; the verse supplies the precondition narrative for later dharmic flourishing associated with sacred lands.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.