Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

प्राग्वंशकायो द्युतिमान्मात्रादीक्षाभिरावृतः । दक्षिणा हृदयो योगी महासत्रमहो महान्

Transliteration

prāgvaṃśakāyo dyutimānmātrādīkṣābhirāvṛtaḥ | dakṣiṇā hṛdayo yogī mahāsatramaho mahān

Translation

പ്രാഗ്വംശം തന്നെയായിരുന്നു അവന്റെ ദേഹം; അവൻ ദ്യുതിമാനായി, മാത്രാദി ദീക്ഷകളാൽ ആവൃതനായി. ദക്ഷിണ തന്നെയായിരുന്നു അവന്റെ ഹൃദയം; അവൻ യോഗി— മഹാസത്രയാഗത്തിന്റെ മഹിമാസ്വരൂപൻ.

Word by Word

• prāk-vaṃśa-kāyaḥ: whose body is the prāgvaṃśa (eastern sacrificial enclosure)
• prāk-vaṃśa-kāyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāk + vaṃśa + kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (masculine, nominative, singular)

• dyutimān: radiant
• dyutimān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dyutimat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (masculine, nominative, singular)

• mātrā-dīkṣābhiḥ: with (the) measures and consecrations
• mātrā-dīkṣābhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātrā + dīkṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन (feminine, instrumental, plural)

• āvṛtaḥ: covered; enveloped
• āvṛtaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā + vṛ (धातु) + āvṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (past participle, masculine nominative singular)

• dakṣiṇā-hṛdayaḥ: whose heart is the dakṣiṇā (sacrificial fee)
• dakṣiṇā-hṛdayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇā + hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (masculine, nominative, singular)

• yogī: the yogin
• yogī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yogin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine, nominative, singular)

• mahā-satra-mahaḥ: whose festival/rite is the great satra
• mahā-satra-mahaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + satra + maha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (masculine, nominative, singular)

• mahān: great
• mahān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (masculine, nominative, singular)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant yajña-being whose torso is the prāgvaṃśa (eastern sacrificial hall/structure), wrapped in layers of dīkṣā like luminous veils; at the heart glows a dakṣiṇā-gift symbol (gold/cow/cloth); the figure is simultaneously a yogin seated within a vast mahāsatra arena.

Characters & Entities

• Yajñavarāha
• Prāgvaṃśa
• Dīkṣā
• Dakṣiṇā
• Mahāsatra
• Īśvara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True sacrifice includes dakṣiṇā (generous giving) and disciplined consecration; inner yoga and outer yajña are unified.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse remains part of the Prabhāsa sacred-geography narrative that culminates in Karddamāla tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it extols dīkṣā (consecration) and dakṣiṇā (ritual gifting) as essential limbs of yajña.