Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 141

Devanagari script

तानि ते कथयाम्यद्य दश सामानि सुन्दरि । हुंकारः प्रणवोद्गीथः प्रस्तावश्च चतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

tāni te kathayāmyadya daśa sāmāni sundari | huṃkāraḥ praṇavodgīthaḥ prastāvaśca catuṣṭayam

Translation

Aujourd’hui je te dirai, ô belle, ces dix chants Sāman : le huṃkāra, le praṇava-udgītha, et le prastāva — ceux-ci forment un ensemble de quatre.

Word by Word

• तानि: those (things)
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• कथयामि: I tell
• कथयामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अद्य: today/now
• अद्य: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• दश: ten
• दश: Modifier (Quantifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्द; विशेषण (नपुंसक-बहुवचनस्य)

• सामानि: Sāman-chants
• सामानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• सुन्दरि: O beautiful one
• सुन्दरि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुन्दरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• हुंकारः: the ‘huṃ’ utterance
• हुंकारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुंकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• प्रणवोद्गीथः: the udgītha of the praṇava
• प्रणवोद्गीथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रणव + उद्गीथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (प्रणवस्य उद्गीथः)

• प्रस्तावः: the prelude (prastāva)
• प्रस्तावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रस्ताव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• चतुष्टयम्: a set of four
• चतुष्टयम्: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुष्टय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya dialogue style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as sundarī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage instructs a goddess-like listener, enumerating ten Sāman-chants; palm-leaf manuscript, sacrificial ladles and kuśa grass nearby; the sound-symbol Oṃ and huṃkāra visualized as subtle waves over a sacred coastal tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Sāman (Sāmaveda chant)
• huṃkāra
• praṇava (Oṃ)
• udgītha
• prastāva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sound is systematized: Purāṇic devotion honors Vedic chant-structures as vehicles of merit and focus.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Arkasthala context), where mantra/chant frameworks are being taught as part of the rite.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A set of Sāman components is introduced—beginning with huṃkāra, praṇava-udgītha, and prastāva—within a larger list of ten.