Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

वैष्णवे कोटिरेका तु तीर्थानां वरवर्णिनि । सार्द्धकोटिस्तु संप्रोक्ता रुद्रभागे च मध्यतः

Transliteration

vaiṣṇave koṭirekā tu tīrthānāṃ varavarṇini | sārddhakoṭistu saṃproktā rudrabhāge ca madhyataḥ

Translation

হে সুন্দৰবৰ্ণিনী দেবী, বৈষ্ণৱ ভাগত তীৰ্থৰ এক কোটি আৰু অধিক বুলি কোৱা হৈছে। আৰু ৰুদ্ৰ ভাগৰ মধ্যদেশত এক কোটি আৰু অৰ্ধকোটি ঘোষণা কৰা হৈছে।

Word by Word

• वैष्णवे: in the Vaiṣṇava (portion)
• वैष्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैष्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative singular; विशेषण (qualifying भागे—elliptic)

• कोटि-एका: one crore
• कोटि-एका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular; कर्मधारय (एका कोटिः)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषार्थक-निपात (particle)

• तीर्थानाम्: of the pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन — Neuter, Genitive plural

• वरवर्णिनि: O fair-complexioned one
• वरवर्णिनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरवर्णिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative singular; कर्मधारय (वरः वर्णः यस्याः सा) संबोधन (addressing Devī)

• सार्द्ध-कोटिः: one and a half crores
• सार्द्ध-कोटिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सार्द्ध (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular; अव्ययीभाव (सार्द्धम् कोटिः = ‘a crore and a half’)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषार्थक-निपात (particle)

• संप्रोक्ता: is declared, is stated
• संप्रोक्ता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular; (सार्द्धकोटिः) ‘is declared’

• रुद्रभागे: in the Rudra-portion
• रुद्रभागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रुद्रस्य भागः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• मध्यतः: in the middle
• मध्यतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मध्यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘in the middle/from the middle’)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced: addressing Devī with vocatives like devi/śubhe/varānane in this adhyāya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Vaiṣṇava-bhāga; Rudra-bhāga)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as varavarṇinī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tripartite kṣetra diagram: Vaiṣṇava sector filled with conch-disc banners and many small shrines; central Rudra sector denser, marked by tridents and liṅgas; pilgrims moving from periphery to center.

Characters & Entities

• Vaiṣṇava (division)
• Rudra (division)
• Tīrthas
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prabhāsa is portrayed as a vast sacred landscape where innumerable tīrthas concentrate spiritual merit, urging pilgrimage and reverence for holy geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra as a whole is glorified, especially its internal Vaiṣṇava and Rudra divisions rich in tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse primarily enumerates the abundance of tīrthas across Prabhāsa’s divisions.