Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

एकतः सर्वमांसानि मत्स्यमांसं तथैकतः । एकतः सर्वपापानि परदारास्तथैकतः

Transliteration

ekataḥ sarvamāṃsāni matsyamāṃsaṃ tathaikataḥ | ekataḥ sarvapāpāni paradārāstathaikataḥ

Translation

D’un côté se trouvent toutes les sortes de chair, et de l’autre la seule chair de poisson; d’un côté se trouvent tous les péchés, et de l’autre le seul péché d’approcher l’épouse d’autrui.

Word by Word

• ekataḥ: on one side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial locus/side)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), दिशार्थ/पक्षार्थ: ‘on one side/one hand’

• sarva-māṃsāni: all meats
• sarva-māṃsāni: Pradhāna (Topic/Item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: ‘सर्वाणि मांसानि’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• matsya-māṃsam: fish-meat
• matsya-māṃsam: Pradhāna (Topic/Item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: matsya (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध): ‘मत्स्यस्य मांसम्’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tathā: thus; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘thus/so; likewise’

• ekataḥ: on the other side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial locus/side)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘on one side/one hand’

• ekataḥ: on one side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial locus/side)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘on one side/one hand’

• sarva-pāpāni: all sins
• sarva-pāpāni: Pradhāna (Topic/Item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: ‘सर्वाणि पापानि’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• para-dārāḥ: others’ wives
• para-dārāḥ: Pradhāna (Topic/Item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘परस्य दाराः’ (others’ wives); पुंलिङ्ग (dāraḥ pluralia tantum), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tathā: thus; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘thus/likewise’

• ekataḥ: on the other side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial locus/side)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘on one side/one hand’

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (continuing their denunciation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau illustrating moral comparison: symbolic weighing—one side ‘all meats’ versus ‘fish meat’; one side ‘all sins’ versus ‘approaching another’s wife’—as the brāhmaṇas emphasize severity.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Ocean (Samudra)
• Fish (matsya)
• Paradāra (illicit relations)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain actions are singled out in dharma discourse as especially dangerous—here, prohibited consumption and sexual misconduct—demanding heightened restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where ethical instruction is embedded within the pilgrimage narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a moral classification rather than a ritual injunction.