Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

यथा दक्षो दक्षपुत्रा स्तथा सप्तर्षयश्च ये । ततः प्रजानां पतयः प्राभवन्नेकविंशतिः

Transliteration

yathā dakṣo dakṣaputrā stathā saptarṣayaśca ye | tataḥ prajānāṃ patayaḥ prābhavannekaviṃśatiḥ

Translation

जसा दक्ष व दक्षपुत्र प्रजासृष्टीचे प्रवर्तक झाले, तसेच सप्तर्षीही झाले. त्यांच्यापासून पुढे प्रजांचे एकवीस अधिपती—प्रजापती—उत्पन्न झाले.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/तुलना-वाचक (comparative particle: “as/just as”)

• दक्षः: Dakṣa
• दक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन (Singular)

• दक्षपुत्राः: the sons of Dakṣa
• दक्षपुत्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa + putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (genitive determinative: “sons of Dakṣa”)

• तथा: so, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुलना-वाचक (correlative: “so/likewise”)

• सप्तर्षयः: the seven sages
• सप्तर्षयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapta + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural); द्विगु-समासः (numeral compound: “seven sages”)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction: “and”)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural); सम्बन्ध-सूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun: “who/which”)

• ततः: thereafter, from that
• ततः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/क्रम-वाचक (ablatival adverb: “from there/thereafter”)

• प्रजानाम्: of creatures/offspring
• प्रजानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन (Plural)

• पतयः: lords, masters
• पतयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

• प्राभवन्: arose, came into being
• प्राभवन्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/लुङ्); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); बहुवचन (Plural); उपसर्गः ‘प्र’

• एकविंशतिः: twenty-one
• एकविंशतिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekaviṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन (Singular); संख्या (cardinal: 21)

Speaker

Śiva (contextual; confirmed explicitly at 8.39)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic genealogy tableau: Dakṣa with his progenitive aura, Saptarṣis seated in a semicircle, and a symbolic emergence of twenty-one prajāpatis as luminous figures emanating from the primordial order.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Saptarṣi
• Prajāpati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creation is portrayed as dharma-ordered: progeny and governance arise through divinely instituted lineages rather than randomness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised in this verse; it functions as cosmological groundwork within the Dharmāraṇya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is genealogical/cosmological rather than prescriptive.