Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

गौरी कन्या प्रधाना वै मध्यमा कन्यका मता । रोहिणी तत्समा ज्ञेया अधमा च रजस्वला

Transliteration

gaurī kanyā pradhānā vai madhyamā kanyakā matā | rohiṇī tatsamā jñeyā adhamā ca rajasvalā

Translation

‘گوری’ کنیا کو برتر مانا گیا ہے؛ ‘کنیَکا’ کو درمیانی کہا گیا؛ ‘روہِنی’ کو اسی کے برابر جاننا چاہیے؛ اور ‘رجسولا’ کو ادنیٰ شمار کیا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• gaurī: Gaurī (name/type)
• gaurī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kanyā: a maiden
• kanyā: Predicate nominative (समानााधिकरण/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• pradhānā: principal, foremost
• pradhānā: Predicate qualifier (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pradhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• madhyamā: middle, intermediate
• madhyamā: Predicate qualifier (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• kanyakā: a young girl
• kanyakā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• matā: is considered
• matā: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √man (मन्) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय) → mata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• rohiṇī: Rohiṇī (name/type)
• rohiṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rohiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tatsamā: equal to that
• tatsamā: Predicate qualifier (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + samā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (तत्-समा = तस्य समा)

• jñeyā: should be known (as)
• jñeyā: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jñā (ज्ञा) + ya (णीय/यत्-प्रत्यय; भाव्य/कर्तव्य) → jñeya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधिलिङ्गार्थक-कर्तव्यता (gerundive: 'to be known')

• adhamā: lowest, inferior
• adhamā: Predicate qualifier (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• ca: and
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• rajasvalā: menstruating woman
• rajasvalā: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rajasvalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A schematic, almost iconographic depiction: four labeled maiden archetypes presented as a teaching chart in a sage’s discourse, with Prabhāsa’s sacred horizon behind.

Characters & Entities

• Gaurī
• Rohiṇī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tradition frames life-stages and bodily states within dharma categories to guide saṃskāras and ritual propriety.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the wider Māhātmya context, where such dharma guidance is embedded within tīrtha discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is commanded; the verse provides a classification used to determine appropriateness for saṃskāras/ritual contexts.