Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

सहस्रसंमिता धेनुरनड्वान्दश धेनवः । दशानडुत्समं यानं दशयानसमो हयः

Transliteration

sahasrasaṃmitā dhenuranaḍvāndaśa dhenavaḥ | daśānaḍutsamaṃ yānaṃ daśayānasamo hayaḥ

Translation

Une vache vaut mille; un bœuf équivaut à dix vaches. Un véhicule équivaut à dix bœufs; et un cheval équivaut à dix véhicules.

Word by Word

• सहस्रसंमिता: equal to a thousand (in value)
• सहस्रसंमिता: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra-saṃmitā (प्रातिपदिक; सहस्र + संमिता)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifies धेनुः)

• धेनुः: a cow
• धेनुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

• अनड्वान्: a bull
• अनड्वान्: Karta (Co-subject/समुच्चित)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaḍvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

• दश: ten
• दश: Sambandha (Numeral/संख्या)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: daśa (अव्यय/संख्यावाचक)
• Form: अव्यय (संख्यावाचक numeral; indeclinable in this use)

• धेनवः: cows
• धेनवः: Karta (Co-subject/समुच्चित)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

• दश: ten
• दश: Sambandha (Numeral/संख्या)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: daśa (अव्यय/संख्यावाचक)
• Form: अव्यय (संख्यावाचक numeral)

• अनडुत्समम्: equal to ten bulls
• अनडुत्समम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anaḍut-sama (प्रातिपदिक; अनडुत् + सम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifies यानम्)

• यानम्: a vehicle; conveyance
• यानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

• दशयानसमः: equal to ten vehicles
• दशयानसमः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa-yāna-sama (प्रातिपदिक; दश + यान + सम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifies हयः)

• हयः: a horse
• हयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a sage points to a sequence—cow, ox, cart/vehicle, horse—each shown larger or more ornate, with numeric markers indicating tenfold and thousandfold valuation.

Characters & Entities

• Dhenu (cow)
• Anaḍvāh (ox)
• Haya (horse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma literature ranks gifts to guide householders toward increasingly weighty forms of dāna.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scale is taught within Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s Māhātmya as part of pilgrimage-era dharma instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A comparative scale used for evaluating dāna (charitable gifting) items.