Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 114

Devanagari script

देवा ऊचुः । प्रमाणं नो विजानीथ भागं मंत्रा इति धुवम्

Transliteration

devā ūcuḥ | pramāṇaṃ no vijānītha bhāgaṃ maṃtrā iti dhuvam

Translation

Les Devas dirent : «Assurément, les Mantras connaissent la règle d’autorité concernant la part sacrificielle ; cela est certain.»

Word by Word

• devāḥ: the gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• pramāṇam: authority; proof
• pramāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• naḥ: of us; our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूप

• vijānītha: you know; you understand
• vijānītha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√jñā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• bhāgam: share; portion
• bhāgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• maṃtrāḥ: the Mantras (priests)
• maṃtrāḥ: Sambodhana/Pravakta (Speaker/वक्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṃtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• dhruvam: certainly; surely
• dhruvam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbially)

Speaker

Devas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas in assembly declare that the Mantras know the authoritative rule of sacrificial shares; a sense of turning toward scripture as judge.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Mantras
• Yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True ritual order rests on śāstra-pramāṇa (scriptural authority), not on ego or social power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra-māhātmya section of Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies that the distribution of yajña portions should follow Vedic/mantric authority.