Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य तस्मिन्सानौ नृपोत्तम । तृषार्तं गोकुलं प्राप्तं गोपगोपीसमाकुलम्

Transliteration

kasyacittvatha kālasya tasminsānau nṛpottama | tṛṣārtaṃ gokulaṃ prāptaṃ gopagopīsamākulam

Translation

Pagkaraan ng ilang panahon, O pinakadakilang hari, isang pamayanang pastol ng baka—siksik sa mga gopā at gopī—ang dumating sa dalisdis ng bundok na iyon, nanghihina sa tindi ng uhaw.

Word by Word

• kasyacit: of some
• kasyacit: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kas (कस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थ (indefinite genitive singular: ‘of some’)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु-अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/पुनरुक्त्यर्थक निपात (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक (indeclinable; ‘then’)

• kālasya: of time
• kālasya: Sambandha (Genitive of time/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (काल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (masculine genitive singular)

• tasmin: at that (time)
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (locative singular)

• sānau: on the ridge/slope
• sānau: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sānu (सानु-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (neuter locative singular)

• nṛpottama: O best of kings
• nṛpottama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + uttama (नृप + उत्तम; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन (masculine vocative singular)

• tṛṣārtam: afflicted by thirst
• tṛṣārtam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛṣā + ārta (तृषा + आर्त; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter accusative singular; adjective)

• gokulam: the cowherd settlement
• gokulam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gokula (गोकुल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (neuter accusative singular)

• prāptam: reached/arrived
• prāptam: Karma (Predicate to object/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √āp (आप्) (कृदन्त-क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे (past participle; neuter accusative singular)

• gopagopīsamākulam: crowded with cowherds and cowherd-women
• gopagopīsamākulam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gopa + gopī + samākula (गोप + गोपी + समाकुल; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter accusative singular; adjective)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-parvata (sānu region)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpottama (addressed as 'O best of kings')

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A gोकुल (cowherd settlement) climbs onto a mountain slope: cattle, carts, gopas with staffs, gopīs carrying pots, all weary and searching for water under a harsh sky.

Characters & Entities

• nṛpottama (king addressed)
• gokula
• gopa
• gopī
• mountain slope (sānu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human and pastoral communities seek refuge in sacred landscapes; necessity (thirst) becomes the doorway to dharmic encounters.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader glorification is of the Arbuda region within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa; this verse introduces the mountain-slope setting rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse sets the narrative scene.