Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

यस्य दर्शनमात्रेण अश्वमेध फलं लभेत् । कस्तं न पूजयेद्विद्वान्प्रभासे बालरूपिणम्

Transliteration

yasya darśanamātreṇa aśvamedha phalaṃ labhet | kastaṃ na pūjayedvidvānprabhāse bālarūpiṇam

Translation

Dia yang hanya dengan dipandang menganugerahkan buah yajña Aśvamedha—siapakah orang bijak yang tidak memuja Tuhan berwujud kanak-kanak itu di Prabhāsa?

Word by Word

• यस्य: of whom/whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Genitive (6th), Singular; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• दर्शनमात्रेण: by mere sight
• दर्शनमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Instrumental (3rd), Singular; समासः: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (मात्रं दर्शनम् / दर्शनस्य मात्रम्) — ‘mere seeing’

• अश्वमेध: of the Aśvamedha (sacrifice)
• अश्वमेध: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular (सम्बन्धः ‘of Aśvamedha’)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — Optative, 3rd person, Singular, Atmanepada

• कः: who
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; प्रश्नवाचक (interrogative)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Optative, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• विद्वान्: a learned person
• विद्वान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्वस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; कर्तृपद (agent noun ‘learned man’)

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Locative (7th), Singular

• बालरूपिणम्: in child-form
• बालरूपिणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाल + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; समासः: तत्पुरुष (बालस्य रूपं यस्य/बालरूपः) — ‘having the form of a child’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa Māhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Bāla-rūpa darśana-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant child-formed deity at Prabhāsa, adored by a learned pilgrim; the atmosphere suggests that mere sight confers immense sacrificial merit, with subtle yajña symbols (a distant altar, smoke) fading behind the deity’s presence.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa
• Bālarūpī (child-formed deity)
• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana (holy sight) of the deity at Prabhāsa is itself transformative and yields immense merit, urging reverent worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), praised as a place where even a single दर्शन grants extraordinary punya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse emphasizes pūjā (worship) following darśana; it implies formal veneration of the child-formed deity at Prabhāsa.