Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

पतिता ये कणा भूमौ संहरंति कपोतवत् । उद्धृत्याजीवनं येषां कपोतास्ते तु साधकाः

Transliteration

patitā ye kaṇā bhūmau saṃharaṃti kapotavat | uddhṛtyājīvanaṃ yeṣāṃ kapotāste tu sādhakāḥ

Translation

جو لوگ کبوتر کی طرح زمین پر گرے ہوئے دانے سمیٹتے ہیں، اور جن کی روزی اسی چُنے ہوئے اناج سے چلتی ہے—ایسے سادھک ‘کپوتاہ’ کہلاتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• patitāḥ: fallen
• patitāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pat (धातु) + ita (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/क्तवत्-भावे 'पतित'—past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• ye: which/that
• ye: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम; विशेषण

• kaṇāḥ: grains/particles
• kaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

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

• saṃharanti: they gather/collect
• saṃharanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-hṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• kapotavat: like pigeons
• kapotavat: Sambandha (Adverbial comparison/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kapota + vat (तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमा-अव्यय; -वत् = 'like')

• uddhṛtya: having picked up
• uddhṛtya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ud-√hṛ (धातु) + lyap (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त-अव्यय (ल्यप्/क्त्वा, gerund): 'having lifted/taken up'

• ājīvanam: for livelihood
• ājīvanam: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ājīvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (adverbial accusative: 'for livelihood')

• yeṣām: of whom
• yeṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• kapotāḥ: pigeons (i.e., 'kapota'-type ascetics)
• kapotāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapota (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• te: those
• te: Visheshana (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• sādhakāḥ: practitioners/adepts
• sādhakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An emaciated but serene ascetic bends to gather scattered grains from the earth while pigeons peck nearby; a small water pot and staff lie beside him; the distant outline of a coastal shrine suggests Prabhāsa.

Characters & Entities

• sādhaka
• kapota

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contentment and austerity are praised—living on minimal, honestly obtained food supports steady practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, within the Skanda Purāṇa’s Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A livelihood-discipline (vṛtti) is described: subsisting on grains picked from the ground, emphasizing restraint rather than a formal rite.