Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

लुण्ठन्भूमौ यदा याति मृगचर्मावगुंठितः । दण्डप्रमाणभूमेर्वा संख्यां कुर्वन्नरो यदि

Transliteration

luṇṭhanbhūmau yadā yāti mṛgacarmāvaguṃṭhitaḥ | daṇḍapramāṇabhūmervā saṃkhyāṃ kurvannaro yadi

Translation

หากบุรุษผู้ห่มหนังเนื้อทรายดำเนินไปด้วยการกลิ้งกายบนพื้นดิน หรือหากเขาวัดผืนดินตามความยาวไม้เท้าแล้วนับระยะนั้นไปเรื่อย ๆ (เป็นตบะ/การจาริก)…

Word by Word

• लुण्ठन्: rolling / writhing
• लुण्ठन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लुण्ठ् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्तरि कृदन्तः (Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘लुण्ठन्’ = लुण्ठति (लोटति)

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), एकवचन

• यदा: when
• यदा: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: when)

• याति: goes
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• मृगचर्म: deer-skin
• मृगचर्म: —
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग + चर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मृगस्य चर्म)

• अवगुण्ठितः: covered / wrapped
• अवगुण्ठितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव + गुण्ठ् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकाले कर्मणि कृदन्तः (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘आवृतः/प्रच्छन्नः’

• दण्डप्रमाण: a staff’s measure
• दण्डप्रमाण: —
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड + प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दण्डस्य प्रमाणम्)

• भूमेः: of the ground
• भूमेः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-निपात (disjunctive particle: or)

• संख्याम्: count / number
• संख्याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन

• कुर्वन्: doing / making
• कुर्वन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्तरि कृदन्तः (Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• यदि: if
• यदि: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-निपात (conditional particle)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa māhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An ascetic devotee wrapped in a deerskin rolls along the dusty pilgrimage path toward a Śiva shrine; another vignette shows him laying a staff/rod repeatedly to measure the ground, counting each length with prayer beads.

Characters & Entities

• Nara (pilgrim/ascetic)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Physical austerity undertaken with pilgrimage-intent is framed as a legitimate form of tapas that supports spiritual transformation within a holy kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra-māhātmya within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, implying these austerities are performed in/for that sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Austerity practices: rolling on the earth (luṇṭhana) and measuring/counting the ground by staff-lengths (daṇḍa-pramāṇa) as a disciplined observance.