Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

अधिकृत्याब्रवीत्सप्तकल्पवृत्तं मुनिव्रताः । तन्मात्स्यमिति जानीध्वं सहस्राणि चतुदर्श

Transliteration

adhikṛtyābravītsaptakalpavṛttaṃ munivratāḥ | tanmātsyamiti jānīdhvaṃ sahasrāṇi catudarśa

Translation

മുനിവ്രതികളേ! അദ്ദേഹം ഏഴ് കൽപ്പങ്ങളുടെ വൃത്താന്തം പ്രസ്താവിച്ചു; അതിനെ ‘മാത്സ്യം’ എന്നു അറിയുക—അത് പതിനാലായിരം (ശ്ലോകങ്ങൾ) അടങ്ങിയതാണ്।

Word by Word

• अधिकृत्य: having taken up; concerning
• अधिकृत्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier of action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधि + कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘अधिकृत्य’ = having taken up/with reference to

• अब्रवीत्: said; spoke
• अब्रवीत्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• सप्तकल्पवृत्तम्: the account of seven kalpas
• सप्तकल्पवृत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + वृत्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सप्तानां कल्पानां वृत्तम्)

• मुनिव्रताः: the sages of ascetic vows
• मुनिव्रताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मधारयः (मुनयः इव व्रतं येषाम् / मुनिव्रताः = ascetic-vowed sages)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• मात्स्यम्: (the) Mātsya (pertaining to the Fish incarnation)
• मात्स्यम्: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मात्स्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचक (quotative particle)

• जानीध्वम्: know; understand
• जानीध्वम्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma/Pramana (Measure/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• चतुदर्श: fourteen
• चतुदर्श: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular) (पाठभेद/लोपः: ‘चतुदर्श’ = ‘चतुर्दश’); द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारि + दश)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (explicit vocative ‘munivratāḥ’ supports this)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Munivratāḥ (sages of holy vows)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-teacher addresses ‘munivratāḥ’ with a manuscript labeled ‘Mātsya’ and a visible count ‘14,000’; behind them, a wheel of time showing seven kalpas as concentric rings.

Characters & Entities

• Mātsya
• Kalpa
• Ṛṣis (munivratāḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas function as organized repositories of cosmic memory, mapping dharma through kalpa-by-kalpa narration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra remains the narrative container; this line serves a Purāṇic identification rather than a tīrtha description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it identifies the Mātsya account by its scope and extent.