Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

आपस्तंब उवाच । एता वः प्रतिगृह्णामि गां यूयं मुक्तकिल्विषाः । निषादा गच्छत स्वर्गं सह मत्स्यैर्जलोद्धृतैः

Transliteration

āpastaṃba uvāca | etā vaḥ pratigṛhṇāmi gāṃ yūyaṃ muktakilviṣāḥ | niṣādā gacchata svargaṃ saha matsyairjaloddhṛtaiḥ

Translation

ആപസ്തംബൻ പറഞ്ഞു—നിങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് ഈ ഗാവിനെ ഞാൻ സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നു; നിങ്ങൾ പാപമുക്തരായി. ഹേ നിഷാദന്മാരേ, ജലത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഉയർത്തിയ മീനുകളോടുകൂടെ സ്വർഗത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുവിൻ.

Word by Word

• आपस्तम्बः: Āpastamba
• आपस्तम्बः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आपस्तम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः एकवचनम् (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम् (he said)

• एताः: these (fem.)
• एताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः बहुवचनम् (Feminine, Accusative, Plural)

• वः: of you (your)
• वः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचनस्य बहुवचनरूपम्; षष्ठी-विभक्तिः बहुवचनम् (Genitive Plural: of you)

• प्रतिगृह्णामि: I accept
• प्रतिगृह्णामि: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम् (I accept)

• गाम्: the cow
• गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः एकवचनम् (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• यूयम्: you (all)
• यूयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः बहुवचनम् (Pronoun, Nominative, Plural)

• मुक्तकिल्विषाः: freed from sin
• मुक्तकिल्विषाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त (मुच्-धातु, क्त-कृदन्त) + किल्विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (किल्विषात् मुक्ताः); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• निषादाः: O Niṣādas
• निषादाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निषाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Vocative, Plural)

• गच्छत: go
• गच्छत: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकारः (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्, परस्मैपदम् (go!)

• स्वर्गम्: to heaven
• स्वर्गम्: Gati/Karma (Goal/गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः एकवचनम् (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सहकारक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: सहकारार्थक-अव्ययम्; तृतीया-सहयोगः (with)

• मत्स्यैः: with the fish
• मत्स्यैः: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-विभक्तिः बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

• जलोद्धृतैः: drawn out of the water
• जलोद्धृतैः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्धृत (उद्+हृ-धातु, क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (जलात् उद्धृताः); पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-विभक्तिः बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural); विशेषणम् (qualifying मत्स्यैः)

Speaker

Āpastaṃba

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Niṣādas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Āpastaṃba formally accepts the cow; a luminous blessing seems to radiate as the Niṣādas are declared sinless; nearby, fish symbolically appear as beneficiaries of rescue, poised for ascent.

Characters & Entities

• Āpastaṃba
• Niṣādas
• matsya (fish)
• svarga (heaven)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A righteous gift accepted by a saint, joined with compassion, can purify even those burdened by sin and uplift other beings as well.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, presented as a place where contact with saints and meritorious acts quickly bear fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna—specifically the gifting of a cow (go-dāna), received by a sage as part of dharmic purification.