Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

हंससारसचक्राह्वाः शुककोकिलबर्हिणः । मृगाश्च वानरेन्द्राश्च हंसा व्याघ्रास्तथैव च

Transliteration

haṃsasārasacakrāhvāḥ śukakokilabarhiṇaḥ | mṛgāśca vānarendrāśca haṃsā vyāghrāstathaiva ca

Translation

ที่นั่นมีหงส์ นกกระเรียน นกจักรวากะ นกแก้ว นกกาเหว่า และนกยูง; ทั้งกวางและจ้าวแห่งวานรด้วย—มีหงส์และแม้เสือโคร่งอยู่เช่นกัน

Word by Word

• haṃsasārasacakrāhvāḥ: swans, cranes, and ruddy geese (cakrāhvas)
• haṃsasārasacakrāhvāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṃsa (हंस) + sāras(a) (सारस) + cakrāhva (चक्राह्व)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनम्; समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (names of birds)

• śuka: parrots
• śuka: Karta (Enumerated subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuka (शुक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनार्थे समासाङ्ग (as member)

• kokila: cuckoos
• kokila: Karta (Enumerated subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kokila (कोकिल प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनार्थे समासाङ्ग (as member)

• barhiṇaḥ: peacocks
• barhiṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: barhin (बर्हिन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनम्

• mṛgāḥ: deer/animals
• mṛgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (मृग प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vānarendrāḥ: lords of monkeys
• vānarendrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vānara (वानर) + indra (इन्द्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vānarāṇām indraḥ = lord of monkeys)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• haṃsāḥ: swans
• haṃsāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṃsa (हंस प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनम्

• vyāghrāḥ: tigers
• vyāghrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāghra (व्याघ्र प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (Nom.1), बहुवचनम्

• tathā: thus/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus/so)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (king) (implied by later address)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lush sacred woodland near a river in Prabhāsa: swans and cranes on lotus water, cakravāka pairs at the bank, parrots and cuckoos in flowering trees, peacocks dancing, deer grazing calmly, monkeys in the canopy, and a tiger present yet non-threatening—suggesting kṣetra-sānnidhya pacifying all beings.

Characters & Entities

• Vastrāpatha
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy region is portrayed as harmonizing wilderness and sanctity—life gathers where dharma is strong.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vastrāpatha-kṣetra environment within Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a descriptive catalog of the tīrtha’s living landscape.