Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

कपाली चैव देवेशः करवीरं तथा पुनः । ओंकारं परमं पुण्यं वशिष्ठाश्रममेव च । यत्र कोटिः स्मृता देवि रुद्राणां कामरूपिणाम्

Transliteration

kapālī caiva deveśaḥ karavīraṃ tathā punaḥ | oṃkāraṃ paramaṃ puṇyaṃ vaśiṣṭhāśramameva ca | yatra koṭiḥ smṛtā devi rudrāṇāṃ kāmarūpiṇām

Translation

وفيه كَبَالِي، وكذلك ديفيشا؛ وكَرَفيرَ مرةً أخرى؛ وأومكارا بالغ القداسة؛ وآشرم فَشِشْطَه أيضًا—حيث، يا ديفي، يُتَذَكَّر أن كوṭي (كروْر) من الرودرا، القادرين على اتخاذ الصور كما يشاؤون، يقيمون.

Word by Word

• kapālī: Kapālī (a name/epithet of Śiva)
• kapālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction: 'and')

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• deveśaḥ: Lord of the gods
• deveśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (deva-īśa = 'lord of gods')

• karavīram: Karavīra (a sacred place/name)
• karavīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karavīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tathā: also/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha/Adverbial (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: 'thus/also')

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Sambandha/Adverbial (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: 'again/further')

• oṃkāram: Oṃkāra (the syllable Oṃ)
• oṃkāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying oṃkāram/puṇyam)

• puṇyam: holy/meritorious
• puṇyam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying oṃkāram)

• vaśiṣṭhāśramam: Vaśiṣṭha’s hermitage
• vaśiṣṭhāśramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaśiṣṭha + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Vaśiṣṭha-āśrama = 'hermitage of Vaśiṣṭha')

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction: 'and')

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: 'where')

• koṭiḥ: a crore/ten million; a multitude
• koṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• smṛtā: is said/remembered
• smṛtā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थ (as 'is said/remembered')

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• rudrāṇām: of the Rudras
• rudrāṇām: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kāmarūpiṇām: of those who assume forms at will
• kāmarūpiṇām: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural); उपपद/तत्पुरुष (kāma-rūpin = 'having form at will'); विशेषण (qualifying rudrāṇām)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālī; Deveśa; Karavīra; Oṃkāra; Vaśiṣṭhāśrama (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (explicitly addressed: ‘देवि’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand sacred tableau: Kapālī and Deveśa liṅgas in adjacent sanctums; a Karavīra grove; an Oṃkāra shrine with the praṇava symbol glowing above a liṅga; Vaśiṣṭha seated in an āśrama with a kamandalu; in the sky and around the grove, countless subtle Rudra-forms shimmer, each taking varied shapes (kāmarūpin).

Characters & Entities

• Kapālī
• Deveśa
• Karavīra
• Oṃkāra
• Vaśiṣṭhāśrama
• Rudras
• Devī
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prabhāsa is not merely a place but a living Śaiva cosmos—inhabited in memory and presence by innumerable Rudra-powers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, especially the sites named Kapālī, Deveśa, Karavīra, Oṃkāra, and Vaśiṣṭhāśrama.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse implicitly commends tīrtha-darśana and smaraṇa (recollection) of the Rudras’ presence.