Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

चतुर्विंशतिसाहस्रं नाना वृत्तान्तसंयुतम् । धर्मार्थकाममोक्षैश्च साधुवृत्तसमन्वितम्

Transliteration

caturviṃśatisāhasraṃ nānā vṛttāntasaṃyutam | dharmārthakāmamokṣaiśca sādhuvṛttasamanvitam

Translation

On dit qu’il renferme vingt-quatre mille vers, riches de nombreux récits, et pourvus d’enseignements sur le dharma, l’artha, le kāma et la mokṣa, ainsi que sur la conduite des vertueux.

Word by Word

• चतुर्विंशतिसाहस्रम्: twenty-four-thousand (in extent)
• चतुर्विंशतिसाहस्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्विंशति + साहस्र (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः — consisting of twenty-four thousand

• नाना: various
• नाना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverbial: various)

• वृत्तान्तसंयुतम्: endowed with narratives
• वृत्तान्तसंयुतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत्तान्त + संयुत (कृदन्त; सम्+√युज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (वृत्तान्तैः संयुतम्) — furnished with accounts/narratives

• धर्मार्थकाममोक्षैः: with dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa
• धर्मार्थकाममोक्षैः: Karana (Instrument/Association/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + अर्थ + काम + मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करण), बहुवचनम्; द्वन्द्व-समासः (समाहार/इतरेतर) — with dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa

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

• साधुवृत्तसमन्वितम्: endowed with virtuous conduct
• साधुवृत्तसमन्वितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साधु + वृत्त + समन्वित (कृदन्त; सम्+अन्वि/√इ धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (साधुवृत्तेन समन्वितम्) — accompanied by the conduct of the good

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) — deduced

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience/ṛṣi interlocutors (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned narrator enumerates the Purāṇa’s scope: four puruṣārthas depicted symbolically—dharma (scale), artha (grain/coins), kāma (flower), mokṣa (lamp/lotus)—with sages listening.

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Artha
• Kāma
• Mokṣa
• Sādhu-vṛtta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A complete sacred text guides human life through all four aims—ethical duty, prosperity, rightful desire, and liberation—grounded in the example of the virtuous.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s māhātmya discourse, but it chiefly summarizes Purāṇic scope rather than a single tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it characterizes a Purāṇa by its verse-count and its coverage of puruṣārthas and sādhu conduct.