Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

दक्षस्य कन्यका राजन्सप्तविंशतिसंख्यया । ऊढाश्चंद्रेण ताः सर्वा अश्विनीप्रमुखाः पुरा

Transliteration

dakṣasya kanyakā rājansaptaviṃśatisaṃkhyayā | ūḍhāścaṃdreṇa tāḥ sarvā aśvinīpramukhāḥ purā

Translation

Pulastya dit : « Ô Roi, Dakṣa eut des filles au nombre de vingt-sept. Jadis, toutes — à commencer par Aśvinī — furent données en mariage à Candra (la Lune). »

Word by Word

• dakṣasya: of Dakṣa
• dakṣasya: Sambandha (genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana (singular)

• kanyakāḥ: daughters
• kanyakāḥ: Kartā (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural)

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Sambodhana (vocative/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana (singular)

• saptaviṃśatisaṃkhyayā: numbering twenty-seven
• saptaviṃśatisaṃkhyayā: Karaṇa (measure/number)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta-viṃśati-saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (singular); saṃkhyā-vācaka; kanyakāḥ iti viśeṣya-anvaya (numbering)

• ūḍhāḥ: were married
• ūḍhāḥ: Kriyā (predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vah (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kta-pratyaya (past passive participle), Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); ‘married’ sense (ūḍhā = wedded)

• caṃdreṇa: by Candra (the Moon)
• caṃdreṇa: Karaṇa/Agent (instrumental agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (singular)

• tāḥ: those (women)
• tāḥ: Kartā (subject; apposition to kanyakāḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); sarvanāma

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); tāḥ/kanyakāḥ iti viśeṣya-anvaya

• aśvinīpramukhāḥ: beginning with Aśvinī
• aśvinīpramukhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśvinī-pramukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); ‘having Aśvinī as the first’

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; kāla-vācaka (formerly)

Speaker

Pulastya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa-sattama (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A schematic, mythic tableau: Dakṣa with twenty-seven daughters (nakṣatra maidens) presented in a celestial court; Candra as their husband, with Aśvinī indicated as the first.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Candra
• Aśvinī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic harmony is sustained when relationships are governed by dharma—here, the Moon’s union with all Nakṣatras implies a duty of balance and fairness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets up a dharma-narrative within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is genealogical and narrative background.