Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

शेषाः प्रकृतयो ब्रह्मंस्तेषां संख्या न विद्यते । तच्छ्रुत्वा चिंतयामास किमेतदिति विस्मितः

Transliteration

śeṣāḥ prakṛtayo brahmaṃsteṣāṃ saṃkhyā na vidyate | tacchrutvā ciṃtayāmāsa kimetaditi vismitaḥ

Translation

«Ô brāhmaṇa, les manifestations restantes de la Prakṛti sont au-delà de tout dénombrement.» En l’entendant, il s’émerveilla et songea : «Qu’est-ce donc que cela ?»

Word by Word

• शेषाः: the remaining
• शेषाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural) (प्रकृतयः इति विशेषणम्)

• प्रकृतयः: women (wives)
• प्रकृतयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahmin
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• संख्या: number
• संख्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• विद्यते: exists/is known
• विद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal)

• चिन्तयामास: thought, reflected
• चिन्तयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिन्त् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular) (प्रश्नार्थक)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• विस्मितः: astonished
• विस्मितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विस्मित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular) (कर्तृविशेषणम्)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; not explicit in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇa/sage (the astonished hearer)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage/brāhmaṇa listens, then pauses in reflective astonishment—eyes widened, hand to chin—while behind him Dvārakā’s bustling multiplicity fades into a symbolic, infinite pattern representing uncountable prakṛti forms.

Characters & Entities

• Brahman (addressed brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine reality and its manifestations exceed ordinary calculation; humility and contemplation are the right response to sacred mystery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Dvārakā Māhātmya (glory of Dvārakā) within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, though this verse itself is philosophical rather than topographical.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse focuses on reflection and astonishment at the innumerable manifestations of Prakṛti.