Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

दक्षस्य कन्यका राजन्सप्तविंशतिसंख्यया । ऊढाश्चंद्रेण ताः सर्वा अश्विनीप्रमुखाः पुरा

Transliteration

dakṣasya kanyakā rājansaptaviṃśatisaṃkhyayā | ūḍhāścaṃdreṇa tāḥ sarvā aśvinīpramukhāḥ purā

Translation

Pulastya nói: “Hỡi Đại vương, Dakṣa có các ái nữ tổng cộng hai mươi bảy. Thuở xưa, tất cả các nàng—bắt đầu từ Aśvinī—đều được gả cho Candra (Nguyệt thần).”

Word by Word

• dakṣasya: of Dakṣa
• dakṣasya: Sambandha (genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana (singular)

• kanyakāḥ: daughters
• kanyakāḥ: Kartā (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural)

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Sambodhana (vocative/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana (singular)

• saptaviṃśatisaṃkhyayā: numbering twenty-seven
• saptaviṃśatisaṃkhyayā: Karaṇa (measure/number)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta-viṃśati-saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (singular); saṃkhyā-vācaka; kanyakāḥ iti viśeṣya-anvaya (numbering)

• ūḍhāḥ: were married
• ūḍhāḥ: Kriyā (predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vah (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kta-pratyaya (past passive participle), Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); ‘married’ sense (ūḍhā = wedded)

• caṃdreṇa: by Candra (the Moon)
• caṃdreṇa: Karaṇa/Agent (instrumental agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (singular)

• tāḥ: those (women)
• tāḥ: Kartā (subject; apposition to kanyakāḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); sarvanāma

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); tāḥ/kanyakāḥ iti viśeṣya-anvaya

• aśvinīpramukhāḥ: beginning with Aśvinī
• aśvinīpramukhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśvinī-pramukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural); ‘having Aśvinī as the first’

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; kāla-vācaka (formerly)

Speaker

Pulastya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa-sattama (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A schematic, mythic tableau: Dakṣa with twenty-seven daughters (nakṣatra maidens) presented in a celestial court; Candra as their husband, with Aśvinī indicated as the first.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Candra
• Aśvinī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic harmony is sustained when relationships are governed by dharma—here, the Moon’s union with all Nakṣatras implies a duty of balance and fairness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets up a dharma-narrative within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is genealogical and narrative background.