Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

ततो यज्ञागतेभ्यः स दक्षिणामददात्पुनः । ततोऽथ दक्षिणा क्षीणा दीयमाना यशस्विनि

Transliteration

tato yajñāgatebhyaḥ sa dakṣiṇāmadadātpunaḥ | tato'tha dakṣiṇā kṣīṇā dīyamānā yaśasvini

Translation

പിന്നീട് യജ്ഞത്തിൽ വന്നവർക്കു അദ്ദേഹം വീണ്ടും ദക്ഷിണ നൽകി; ഹേ യശസ്വിനി, നൽകിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കെ ആ ദക്ഷിണ ക്ഷയിച്ചു തീർന്നു।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘then’

• yajña-āgatebhyaḥ: to those who had come to the sacrifice
• yajña-āgatebhyaḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + āgata (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘यज्ञे आगताः’ (those who came to the sacrifice); पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th)/चतुर्थी (4th) बहुवचन (contextually दान-सम्प्रदानार्थे चतुर्थी: ‘to’)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dakṣiṇām: the sacrificial fee (dakṣiṇā)
• dakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• adadāt: gave
• adadāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect, past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘again’

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘then’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (discourse particle): ‘then/now’

• dakṣiṇā: the dakṣiṇā
• dakṣiṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kṣīṇā: exhausted, depleted
• kṣīṇā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṣi (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle): ‘क्षीण’ (diminished/exhausted); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dīyamānā: being given
• dīyamānā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शानच्/यमान, present passive participle): ‘दीयमान’ (being given); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• yaśasvini: O illustrious lady
• yaśasvini: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yaśasvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: narration; includes vocative to listener)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa yajña-sthala (dakṣiṇā episode)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yashasvinī (addressed in vocative; likely the interlocutrix in the narrative frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā distributes gifts to arriving devas/ṛṣis and officiants; piles of coins, cloth, and cows diminish; attendants look concerned as the treasury thins while the yajña continues.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Yajña
• Dakṣiṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Generosity is integral to yajña; the narrative underscores the dharmic obligation of dakṣiṇā even when resources run low.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting remains Brahmā’s sacrificial arena within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, whose sanctity frames the ritual acts.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Giving dakṣiṇā (ritual gifts/fees) to yajña-attendees is explicitly mentioned.