Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

प्रलेह्यानि विचित्राणि युक्तास्त्र्यूषणसंचयैः । कुल्माषा वेल्लकाश्चैव कोमला वालकाः शुभाः

Transliteration

pralehyāni vicitrāṇi yuktāstryūṣaṇasaṃcayaiḥ | kulmāṣā vellakāścaiva komalā vālakāḥ śubhāḥ

Translation

Il y avait diverses douceurs à lécher (pralehya), mêlées à l’ensemble des trois épices piquantes ; et aussi des kulmāṣas, des vellakas, ainsi que de tendres et auspicieuses préparations de vālakā.

Word by Word

• pralehyāni: lickable sweets/confections
• pralehyāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralehya (प्रातिपदिक; √lih ‘to lick’ → lehyā)
• Form: यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त-नाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nominative plural)

• vicitrāṇi: variegated/various
• vicitrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vicitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nominative plural)

• yuktāḥ: combined with
• yuktāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yukta (युक्त; √yuj धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त निष्ठा; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, Nominative plural; ‘endowed/combined’)

• tri: three
• tri: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम्; समासपूर्वपद (numeral ‘three’)

• ūṣaṇa: pungent spices
• ūṣaṇa: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगभेद); समासाङ्ग; ‘pungent spices’

• saṃcayaiḥ: with collections/mixtures
• saṃcayaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃcaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental plural)

• kulmāṣāḥ: kulmāṣa (boiled grains/beans)
• kulmāṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kulmāṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative plural)

• vellakāḥ: vellaka cakes
• vellakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vellaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (restrictive/emphatic particle)

• komalāḥ: soft/tender
• komalāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: komala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, Nominative plural; ‘soft/tender’)

• vālakāḥ: vālaka items (a kind of sweet/snack)
• vālakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative plural)

• śubhāḥ: fine/auspicious
• śubhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, Nominative plural)

Speaker

Narrator (exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up of delicacies: glossy pralehya in bowls, spices displayed (ginger/pepper/long pepper as tryūṣaṇa), heaps of kulmāṣa and soft vālakā; attendants mix and serve with care.

Characters & Entities

• Tryūṣaṇa (three pungent spices)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is made tangible through careful, wholesome provisioning—offering well-prepared food is a sacred service.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya is the contextual holy region; this verse continues the praise of the charitable feast connected with sacred rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Preparing varied foods, including pralehya delicacies with tryūṣaṇa, and distributing them as part of dharmic hospitality/annadāna.