Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सोमेशात्पूर्वदिग्भागे षष्टिधन्वंतरे स्थितम् । यत्र देव्या तपस्तप्तं सत्या वै पूर्वजन्मनि

Transliteration

someśātpūrvadigbhāge ṣaṣṭidhanvaṃtare sthitam | yatra devyā tapastaptaṃ satyā vai pūrvajanmani

Translation

إلى الشرق من سوميśا يقع ذلك الموضع على بُعد ستين طولَ قوسٍ—حيث إن الإلهة، في ميلادٍ سابقٍ بصفتها ساتي، أقامت رياضاتٍ وزُهداً.

Word by Word

• सोमेशात्: from Someśa (Somnātha)
• सोमेशात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सोमस्य ईशः)

• पूर्वदिग्भागे: in the eastern quarter/part
• पूर्वदिग्भागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + दिक् + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पूर्वायाः दिशः भागे)

• षष्टिधन्वन्तरे: at (a distance of) sixty dhanvantaras
• षष्टिधन्वन्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि + धन्वन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-प्रयोगः (स्थाननाम), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (षष्टिः धन्वन्तराणि यस्मिन्)

• स्थितम्: situated
• स्थितम्: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle used adjectivally), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक सम्बन्ध-अव्यय (where)

• देव्याः: of the goddess
• देव्याः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तप्तम्: was performed (heated/undertaken)
• तप्तम्: Kriya (Action-result/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु) → तप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सत्या: by Satyā (Satī)
• सत्या: Karana (Agent-instrument nuance/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; ‘सत्या’ = ‘सत्या (सती)’ नामरूपेण

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (indeed)

• पूर्वजन्मनि: in a former birth
• पूर्वजन्मनि: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पूर्वे जन्मनि)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaurī/Satī Tapovana (east of Someśa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim path from Someśa toward the east for sixty bow-lengths, leading into a serene grove where Satī once performed tapas; subtle divine presence permeates the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Someśa
• Devī
• Satī
• Tapovana
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography is anchored in divine biography: the Goddess’s tapas in a prior birth makes the terrain itself spiritually potent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Tapovana/tapas-site of the Goddess (Satī/Gaurī), located east of Someśa in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse provides a pilgrimage-directional locator (east of Someśa, sixty bow-lengths).