Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

अग्न्यगाराणि विप्राणां देवतायतनानि च । यद्गोमयेन शुद्ध्यंति किंभूतमधिकं ततः

Transliteration

agnyagārāṇi viprāṇāṃ devatāyatanāni ca | yadgomayena śuddhyaṃti kiṃbhūtamadhikaṃ tataḥ

Translation

ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರ ಅಗ್ನಿಗೃಹಗಳೂ ದೇವಾಲಯಗಳೂ ಗೋಮಯದಿಂದ ಶುದ್ಧಿಯಾಗುತ್ತವೆ ಎಂದಾಗ, ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಅಧಿಕವಾದ ಮಹಿಮೆ ಇನ್ನೇನು?

Word by Word

• अग्न्यगाराणि: fire-houses; kitchens/sacrificial fire-sheds
• अग्न्यगाराणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + आगार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अग्नेः आगाराणि)

• विप्राणाम्: of the Brahmins
• विप्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• देवतायतनानि: temples/shrines of deities
• देवतायतनानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवतायाः आयतनानि)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordinator/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• गोमयेन: with cow-dung
• गोमयेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• शुद्ध्यन्ति: become purified
• शुद्ध्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• किंभूतम्: of what kind?
• किंभूतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: किंभूत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक विशेषण

• अधिकम्: greater; more
• अधिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; तुलनाबोधक

• ततः: than that; from that
• ततः: Apadana/Comparison (Source/तुलना-अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/तुलनार्थक (from that/than that)

Speaker

Āpastamba (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa’s agni-śālā and a temple courtyard are being ritually purified with cow-dung plaster; priests sprinkle water, lamps burn steadily, the space becomes luminous and orderly.

Characters & Entities

• Āpastamba
• Vipra (Brahmin)
• Devatāyatanāni (temples)
• Gomaya (cow-dung)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity in dharma is upheld through sanctifying substances; the cow is revered as a source of ritual and spiritual cleansing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, aligning local sacredness with pan-Indic purity codes.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ritual purification (śuddhi) of sacred spaces using gomaya (cow-dung).