Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

एकतः क्रतवः सर्वे समाप्तवरदक्षिणाः । एकतो भयभीतस्य प्राणिनः प्राणरक्षणम् । विशेषतश्च देवानां रक्षणं बहुपुण्यदम्

Transliteration

ekataḥ kratavaḥ sarve samāptavaradakṣiṇāḥ | ekato bhayabhītasya prāṇinaḥ prāṇarakṣaṇam | viśeṣataśca devānāṃ rakṣaṇaṃ bahupuṇyadam

Translation

ایک طرف سب یَجْن ہیں جو عمدہ دَکْشِنا کے ساتھ مکمل ہیں؛ دوسری طرف خطرے سے سہمے ہوئے جاندار کی جان بچانا ہے۔ اور خصوصاً دیوتاؤں کی حفاظت کرنا بہت زیادہ پُنّیہ عطا کرتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• ekataḥ: on one side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे ‘एकस्मिन् पक्षे/एकतः’

• kratavaḥ: sacrifices, rites
• kratavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन = Masculine, Nominative plural

• sarve: all
• sarve: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन = Masculine, Nominative plural; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘kratavaḥ’)

• samāpta-vara-dakṣiṇāḥ: having completed (rites) with excellent fees (dakṣiṇā)
• samāpta-vara-dakṣiṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samāpta (कृदन्त/भूतकृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक) + dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन = Masculine, Nominative plural; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (समाप्ता वरदक्षिणा येषां ते) बहुपद-विशेषणम्

• ekataḥ: on the other side
• ekataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; ‘अन्यस्मिन् पक्षे’

• bhaya-bhītasya: of one frightened by fear
• bhaya-bhītasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhīta (कृदन्त/क्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन = Masculine, Genitive singular; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (भयेन भीतः)

• prāṇinaḥ: of a living being
• prāṇinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन = Masculine, Genitive singular

• prāṇa-rakṣaṇam: protection of life
• prāṇa-rakṣaṇam: Karma/Artha (Object/Result notion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ रक्ष्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन = Neuter, Nom/Acc singular; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (प्राणानां रक्षणम्)

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; ‘विशेषेण’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-संबन्ध) = conjunction ‘and’

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन = Masculine, Genitive plural

• rakṣaṇam: protection
• rakṣaṇam: Karma/Artha (Object/Result notion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ रक्ष्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter, Nom/Acc singular

• bahu-puṇya-dam: giving much merit
• bahu-puṇya-dam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + da (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √dā दा ‘to give’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter, Nom/Acc singular; समासः = तत्पुरुषः (बहु पुण्यं ददाति इति) विशेषणम् (rakṣaṇam)

Speaker

Devas (reasoning before Sāgara; contextually part of their appeal)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: on one side, blazing sacrificial altars with priests and rich dakṣiṇā; on the other, a frightened being being sheltered—visually asserting that saving life outweighs ritual grandeur.

Characters & Entities

• Kratavaḥ (sacrifices)
• Devas
• Sāgara (implied listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Compassionate protection—saving life and offering refuge—is portrayed as a supreme source of puṇya, comparable to great sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya, the ethical teaching is embedded in the tīrtha’s sacred narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a prescription but a valuation: completed sacrifices with dakṣiṇā are weighed against (and complemented by) the dharma of protecting life.