Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यत्र सिद्धः पुरा देवि जरानामा तु कौलिकः । विष्णुहंता भल्लतीर्थे सोऽस्मिन्स्थाने लयं गतः

Transliteration

yatra siddhaḥ purā devi jarānāmā tu kaulikaḥ | viṣṇuhaṃtā bhallatīrthe so'sminsthāne layaṃ gataḥ

Translation

يا إلهة، في هذا الموضع بعينه كان قديماً كائنٌ مُتحقّق (سِدّه) يُدعى «جارا»، وكان نسّاجاً بحسب طبقته؛ وهو قاتلُ فيشنو في «بهلّاتييرثا»، وهنا في هذا المكان بلغ الذوبانَ الأخير (لايا).

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक (relative locative adverb)

• सिद्धः: a siddha (accomplished being)
• सिद्धः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• जरानामा: named Jarā
• जरानामा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (named Jarā), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (सिद्धस्य विशेषणम्)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वयार्थक (particle: 'but/indeed')

• कौलिकः: a weaver (kaulika)
• कौलिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौलिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (व्यवसायवाचक)

• विष्णुहंता: slayer of Viṣṇu
• विष्णुहंता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + हन्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (slayer of Viṣṇu), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (कौलिकस्य विशेषणम्)

• भल्लतीर्थे: at Bhallatīrtha
• भल्लतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (Bhallatīrtha), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्य), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• स्थाने: place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• लयम्: dissolution/absorption
• लयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• गतः: went/attained
• गतः: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle used predicatively), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (गतोऽभवत्)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhallatīrtha (Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jarā, described here as a siddha and a weaver by caste, stands at Bhallatīrtha in remorseful stillness; the sacred landscape absorbs him into laya, suggesting a dissolving aura into the kṣetra’s light.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Jarā
• Viṣṇu
• Bhallatīrtha
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even grave actions become framed within sacred geography: Prabhāsa and its tīrthas are presented as places where karmic narratives culminate and beings reach dissolution/merging.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bhallatīrtha within Prabhāsa-kṣetra is explicitly named and linked to a decisive Purāṇic event.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it establishes the tīrtha’s narrative sanctity.