Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अन्यानि कोटिशः संति तानि लुप्तानि भामिनि । कृतस्मरात्समारभ्य यावदर्कस्थलो रविः

Transliteration

anyāni koṭiśaḥ saṃti tāni luptāni bhāmini | kṛtasmarātsamārabhya yāvadarkasthalo raviḥ

Translation

يا أيتها المتلألئة، إنّ هناك ملايين من الفُرَج الأُخَر، لكنها قد اندثرت؛ أمّا هذه فباقية منذ زمن كِرتَسْمَرا، ما دام رَفِيّ (إله الشمس) قائمًا في أركَسْثَلا.

Word by Word

• अन्यानि: other (ones)
• अन्यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (others)

• कोटिशः: by crores, countless
• कोटिशः: Visheshana (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कोटि-शस् (प्रातिपदिक + तद्धित/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय, परिमाणवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण ("in crores", "by crores")

• सन्ति: exist, are
• सन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (असँ धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• लुप्तानि: vanished, lost
• लुप्तानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लुप्त (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √लुप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) from √लुप् (लुप् धातु)

• भामिनि: O radiant lady
• भामिनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भामिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• कृतस्मरात्: from (the place/person called) Kṛtasmar(a)
• कृतस्मरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत-स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कृतः स्मरः यस्य/कृतस्मर-नाम)

• समारभ्य: starting from
• समारभ्य: Sambandha (Boundary marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-√रभ् (रभ् धातु)
• Form: अव्यय, तुमुन्/ल्यप्-प्रयोगः; here: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund) "having begun/starting from"

• यावत्: up to, until
• यावत्: Sambandha (Limit/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, परिमाण/अवधिवाचक ("up to", "as long as")

• अर्कस्थलः: Arkasthala
• अर्कस्थलः: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क-स्थल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अर्कस्य स्थलम्)

• रविः: the Sun
• रविः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (addressing Bhāminī/Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arkasthala (Prabhāsa) with Pātāla-vivara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/ Bhāminī (addressed as ‘O radiant one’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panorama of many netherworld openings fading into obscurity, while one great portal near Arkasthala remains marked by the steady radiance of the Sun-deity; a time-lapse sense from ancient Kṛtasmara to the present.

Characters & Entities

• Arkasthala
• Ravi (Sūrya)
• Kṛtasmara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography has enduring nodes: while many wonders fade, a divinely anchored kṣetra remains as a stable refuge for seekers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arkasthala in Prabhāsakṣetra, presented as a lasting sacred locus tied to Ravi (Sūrya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is specified; the verse emphasizes the antiquity and persistence of Arkasthala’s sanctity.