Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

षोडशैव सहस्राणि गोप्यस्तत्र समागताः । लक्षमेकं तथा षष्टिरेते कृष्णसुताः प्रिये

Transliteration

ṣoḍaśaiva sahasrāṇi gopyastatra samāgatāḥ | lakṣamekaṃ tathā ṣaṣṭirete kṛṣṇasutāḥ priye

Translation

Là aussi se rassemblèrent seize mille gopī. Et, ô bien-aimée, les fils de Kṛṣṇa étaient au nombre de cent mille soixante.

Word by Word

• षोडश: sixteen
• षोडश: Visheshana (Numeral qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), नपुंसकलिङ्ग-रूपेण ‘सहस्राणि’ विशेषण; प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन-सामानाधिकरण (agreeing with neuter plural)

• एव: indeed, exactly
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• गोप्यः: cowherd women (gopīs)
• गोप्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• समागताः: had assembled, came together
• समागताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोग

• लक्षम्: a lakh
• लक्षम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); संख्यावाचक (one lakh)

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Visheshana (Numeral qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘लक्षम्’)

• तथा: also, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (also/likewise)

• षष्टिः: sixty
• षष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); संख्यावाचक

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कृष्णसुताः: sons of Krishna
• कृष्णसुताः: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णसुत (प्रातिपदिक: कृष्ण + सुत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णस्य सुताः)

• प्रिये: O dear one
• प्रिये: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; स्त्रीसम्बोधन (address)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continued)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast assembly at Prabhāsa: Kṛṣṇa’s gopīs and an immense retinue of sons and attendants, arranged in orderly groups against a coastal sacred landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Gopīs
• Kṛṣṇa-sutās
• Mahādevī (addressed as priye)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Māhātmya magnifies the tīrtha through the scale of divine-associated assembly, portraying Prabhāsa as a magnet for sacred presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as the gathering place), within the unfolding Gopyāditya Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides narrative enumeration establishing the tīrtha’s sacred setting.