Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

जलाश्रयं समाश्रित्य स्थिता उत्कृष्टसिद्धये । बिसशृंगाटकाहारास्ते कंकाः साधकाः स्मृताः

Transliteration

jalāśrayaṃ samāśritya sthitā utkṛṣṭasiddhaye | bisaśṛṃgāṭakāhārāste kaṃkāḥ sādhakāḥ smṛtāḥ

Translation

ജലാശ്രയം ആശ്രയിച്ച്, ഉത്തമ സിദ്ധിക്കായി അവിടെ സ്ഥിരമായി നിലകൊണ്ട്, താമരത്തണ്ട്‌യും ശൃംഗാടകവും ആഹാരമാക്കുന്നവർ—അവർ ‘കങ്ക’ സാധകർ എന്നു സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• jalāśrayam: a watery refuge / water-body
• jalāśrayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala-āśraya (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: जलस्य आश्रयः (water-resort)

• samāśritya: having taken refuge in
• samāśritya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-√śri (श्रि)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund): 'having resorted to'

• sthitāḥ: remain, stay
• sthitāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √sthā/स्था 'to stand' + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त used predicatively: 'standing/remaining'

• utkṛṣṭasiddhaye: for excellent attainment/success
• utkṛṣṭasiddhaye: Sampradana (Recipient/Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utkṛṣṭa-siddhi (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; चतुर्थी-प्रयोजन (dative of purpose): उत्कृष्टायाः सिद्ध्यै

• bisaśṛṃgāṭakāhārāḥ: whose food is lotus-fibres and water-chestnuts
• bisaśṛṃgāṭakāhārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bisa-śṛṃgāṭaka-āhāra (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: बिसं च शृंगाटकं च (as items) आहारः येषां ते; adjectival to 'kaṃkāḥ'

• te: those
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संकेतक सर्वनाम

• kaṃkāḥ: herons/cranes (kaṅka birds)
• kaṃkāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• sādhakāḥ: practitioners
• sādhakāḥ: Predicate nominative (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• smṛtāḥ: are regarded as
• smṛtāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √smṛ/स्मृ 'to remember' + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त used predicatively (passive sense): 'are called/are remembered as'

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (jala-āśraya tīrthas)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics dwell by a water-body, huts of reeds nearby; they subsist on lotus-stalks and water-chestnuts, performing japa at dawn with mist rising from the water.

Characters & Entities

• siddhi
• jalāśraya
• kaṅka
• sādhaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady residence in sacred environments and disciplined simplicity of diet are portrayed as supports for higher attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s tīrtha milieu, including waterside sacred zones conducive to tapas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An austerity pattern: dwelling by water and maintaining a restricted diet (bisa, śṛṅgāṭaka) for siddhi.