Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट्रा बकाः कंका गोपालाश्चैव भामिनि । त्रुटिका मठराश्चैव गुटिका दंडिकाः परे

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭrā bakāḥ kaṃkā gopālāścaiva bhāmini | truṭikā maṭharāścaiva guṭikā daṃḍikāḥ pare

Translation

ഹേ ഭാമിനി! ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രർ, ബകർ, കങ്കർ, ഗോപാലർ; കൂടാതെ ത്രുടികകളും മഠരരും; പിന്നെയും ഗുടികകളും ദണ്ഡികരും—ഇവയും വിഭാഗങ്ങളാണ്।

Word by Word

• dhṛtarāṣṭrāḥ: (those called) Dhṛtarāṣṭras
• dhṛtarāṣṭrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhṛtarāṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: dhṛta+rāṣṭra (धृतं राष्ट्रं येषाम्/धृत-राष्ट्र)

• bakāḥ: cranes/herons
• bakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• kaṃkāḥ: kankas (a bird; heron/curlew)
• kaṃkāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• gopālāḥ: cowherds
• gopālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः: go+pāla (गवां पालकः)

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

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• bhāmini: O fair lady
• bhāmini: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāminī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन (address)

• truṭikāḥ: (those called) Truṭikās
• truṭikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: truṭikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• maṭharāḥ: (those called) Maṭharas
• maṭharāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṭhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

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

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• guṭikāḥ: (those called) Guṭikās
• guṭikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṭikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• daṃḍikāḥ: staff-bearers/Daṇḍikas
• daṃḍikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃḍika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• pare: others
• pare: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (adjective)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: bhāminī (lovely lady)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A broader panorama of resident types: staff-bearing ascetics (Daṇḍika), pastoral/simple-living figures (Gopāla), bird-named orders (Baka, Kaṅka) symbolizing behavioral traits; all gathered near Prabhāsa’s sacred precincts.

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (class)
• Baka (class)
• Kaṅka (class)
• Gopāla (class)
• Truṭikā (class)
• Maṭhara (class)
• Guṭikā (class)
• Daṇḍika (class)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places sustain diverse, named lineages of discipline, reflecting many paths of regulated living within dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, portrayed as a center where multiple disciplined communities reside.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse continues the taxonomy; specific vows and livelihoods for each group are to be heard in the subsequent explanation.