Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि मुनीनामूर्ध्वरेतसाम् । यत्र स्थितानि संन्यासं तस्मात्किमधिकं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi munīnāmūrdhvaretasām | yatra sthitāni saṃnyāsaṃ tasmātkimadhikaṃ smṛtam

Translation

Là demeurent quatre-vingt-huit mille sages à la semence maîtrisée, établis dans le renoncement ; quelle sainteté plus grande que celle-là la mémoire rapporte-t-elle ?

Word by Word

• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: eighty-eight thousands
• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टा-शीति + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्या-पूर्वपद) — Neuter, Nominative plural, ‘eighty-eight thousand’

• मुनीनाम्: of sages
• मुनीनाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Genitive plural

• ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम्: of celibate (continent) ones
• ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व + रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि ‘ऊर्ध्वं रेतः येषाम्’ (मुनीनाम् विशेषणम्) — Masculine, Genitive plural, ‘whose semen is upward’ (celibate)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — ‘where’

• स्थितानि: are situated/abide
• स्थितानि: Karta (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), ‘standing/abiding’ — Neuter, Nominative plural, past participle

• संन्यासम्: renunciation (saṃnyāsa)
• संन्यासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संन्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; गत्यर्थक/प्राप्त्यर्थक क्रियापद-अध्याहार्य (गच्छन्ति/प्राप्नुवन्ति) — Masculine, Accusative singular

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Source/Reason/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात्-इति तद्धित/सर्वनाम-रूपेण अव्ययीभूतम्; अपादानार्थे — ablative adverbial ‘therefore/from that’

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक — Neuter, Nominative singular, interrogative

• अधिकम्: greater/more
• अधिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (किम्) — Neuter, Nominative singular

• स्मृतम्: is regarded/remembered
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त, कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘is considered/remembered’ — Neuter, Nominative singular, past passive participle used predicatively

Speaker

Narratorial voice (contextual praise within the Māhātmya; specific speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prācī (Prabhāsa-associated Prācī bank)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A feminine addressee in the narrative frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast hermitage landscape along the Prācī bank: rows of ascetics in ochre/white, matted hair, seated in meditation; sacrificial smoke and silence; the tīrtha glows with austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Munis
• Saṃnyāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A place becomes supremely holy where renunciants and great tapasvins dwell; their presence sanctifies the landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prācī Sarasvatī/Prabhāsa region is implied as the abode of vast assemblies of sages.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Renunciation (saṃnyāsa) and disciplined continence are highlighted as the defining spiritual practice associated with the place.