Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

वाजिमेधः पुरा चेष्टं दशभिस्तत्र भामिनि । भरतेन समागत्य मत्वा क्षेत्रमनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

vājimedhaḥ purā ceṣṭaṃ daśabhistatra bhāmini | bharatena samāgatya matvā kṣetramanuttamam

Translation

হে সুন্দরী, প্রাচীনকালে ভরত সেই স্থানকে অনুত্তম পবিত্র ক্ষেত্র জেনে সেখানে এসে দশটি অশ্বমেধ যজ্ঞ সম্পাদন করেছিলেন।

Word by Word

• vājimedhaḥ: the horse-sacrifice (Aśvamedha)
• vājimedhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāji-medha (प्रातिपदिक; वाजि + मेध)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kriya-visheshana (Time/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• ceṣṭam: was performed
• ceṣṭam: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ceṣṭa (कृदन्त; √ceṣṭ/√iṣṭ? here past passive participle sense from √ceṣṭ ‘to strive/perform’)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; वाक्ये कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थं (performed)

• daśabhiḥ: by ten (times)
• daśabhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśan (प्रातिपदिक; दश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• bhāmini: O fair lady
• bhāmini: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāminī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• bharatena: by Bharata
• bharatena: Karta (Agent in participial clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bharata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• samāgatya: having arrived
• samāgatya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal), ‘having come/arrived’

• matvā: having deemed
• matvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: man (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having considered’

• kṣetram: the sacred place/field
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• anuttamam: unsurpassed
• anuttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-uttama (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + उत्तम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (kṣetram); नञ्-तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (context leading to Daśāśvamedhika tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhāminī (addressed as ‘O lovely one’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: King Bharata arrives at Prabhāsa-kṣetra, recognizing it as unsurpassed; sacrificial grounds with altars, banners, and priests preparing for multiple Aśvamedhas near the sea-temple landscape of Somnātha.

Characters & Entities

• Bharata (king)
• Aśvamedha
• Daśāśvamedhika Tīrtha
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity is reinforced by sacred history—great rulers and their yajñas consecrate a place and make it a lasting locus of merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Daśāśvamedhika, named in connection with ten Aśvamedha rites performed there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse recalls performance of Aśvamedha yajñas; it functions as tīrtha-etymology rather than a direct injunction for the reader.