Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

के देशाः किं प्रमाणं तु का नदी केः च पर्वताः । जना वसंति के तत्र ऋषयः के तपस्विनः

Transliteration

ke deśāḥ kiṃ pramāṇaṃ tu kā nadī keḥ ca parvatāḥ | janā vasaṃti ke tatra ṛṣayaḥ ke tapasvinaḥ

Translation

Quels pays s’y trouvent, quelle en est l’étendue, quel fleuve y coule, et quelles montagnes s’y dressent ? Quels peuples y demeurent, et quels ṛṣi et ascètes résident en ce lieu ?

Word by Word

• ke: which/what (ones)
• ke: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• deśāḥ: countries/regions
• deśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• kim: what
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• pramāṇam: measure/extent
• pramāṇam: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tu: and/but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/अन्वय सूचक particle: but/indeed)

• kā: which/what
• kā: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• nadī: river
• nadī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• keḥ: of which/whose
• keḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; (पुं/नपुं)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/conjunction)

• parvatāḥ: mountains
• parvatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• janāḥ: people
• janāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• vasanti: live/dwell
• vasanti: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ke: which (ones)
• ke: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक/adverb of place)

• ṛṣayaḥ: sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ke: which (ones)
• ke: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tapasvinaḥ: ascetics
• tapasvinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapasvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Gaja

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Unnamed questioner (addressed as ‘parapuraṃjaya’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A respectful questioner addresses a learned speaker, asking for the sacred geography: regions, extent, river, mountains, people, and resident sages—like a pilgrim seeking a map from a rishi.

Characters & Entities

• River (unspecified here)
• Mountains (unspecified here)
• Ṛṣis
• Tapasvins

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic tīrtha-māhātmya is grounded in sacred geography—place, river, mountain, and saintly presence together shape holiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The inquiry is about the setting of the Vastrāpatha/Dāmodara tīrtha region within Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a geographical and saintly-lineage inquiry.