Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

क्षेत्रपालो महादेवि यतो दुंदुभिनिःस्वनः । तत्र स्नात्वा महाकुण्डे यः संतर्पयते पितॄन्

Transliteration

kṣetrapālo mahādevi yato duṃdubhiniḥsvanaḥ | tatra snātvā mahākuṇḍe yaḥ saṃtarpayate pitṝn

Translation

“ഹേ മഹാദേവി, ദുന്ദുഭിയുടെ നാദം കേൾക്കുന്ന സ്ഥലത്താണ് ക്ഷേത്രപാലൻ. അവിടെ മഹാകുണ്ടത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് ആരെങ്കിലും പിതൃകളെ തർപ്പണത്തോടെ തൃപ്തിപ്പെടുത്തുകയാണെങ്കിൽ…”

Word by Word

• क्षेत्रपालः: the guardian of the sacred place
• क्षेत्रपालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (क्षेत्रस्य पालः)

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यतः: from where; because of which
• यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेतुवाचक/अपादानार्थक (from where/therefore)

• दुंदुभिनिःस्वनः: the sound of a drum
• दुंदुभिनिःस्वनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुंदुभि (प्रातिपदिक) + निःस्वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दुंदुभेः निःस्वनः)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable participle)

• महाकुण्डे: in the great pond
• महाकुण्डे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (महৎ कुण्डम्)

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• संतर्पयते: satiates, offers satisfaction to
• संतर्पयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु) + सम् (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• पितॄन्: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) addressing Mahādevī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākuṇḍa; Duṃdubhi-tīrtha; Kṣetrapāla-sthāna

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a spot resonant with a mystical drum-sound, the Kṣetrapāla stands sentinel; a pilgrim bathes in the Mahākuṇḍa and then offers tarpaṇa to pitṛs with cupped hands, water and sesame, under the guardian’s watch.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣetrapāla
• Mahādevī
• Duṃdubhi
• Mahākuṇḍa
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is completed by responsibility: bathing at the tīrtha and honoring ancestors sustains dharma across generations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Duṃdubhi-associated area with the Kṣetrapāla, and the Mahākuṇḍa in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) in the Mahākuṇḍa and Pitṛ-tarpaṇa (satisfying the ancestors) at that tīrtha.