Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

हिमवान्हेमकूटश्च कैलासः पृथिवीजयः । इन्द्रनीलो महानीलो भूधरो रत्नकूटकः

Transliteration

himavānhemakūṭaśca kailāsaḥ pṛthivījayaḥ | indranīlo mahānīlo bhūdharo ratnakūṭakaḥ

Translation

হিমবান, হেমকূট, কৈলাস, পৃথিবীজয়; ইন্দ্রনীল, মহানীল, ভূধর এবং রত্নকূটক—এগুলিও (প্রাসাদগুলির) নাম।

Word by Word

• हिमवान्: Himavān (Himalaya; name)
• हिमवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; -वत्-प्रत्ययान्त

• हेमकूटः: Hemakūṭa (golden peak; name)
• हेमकूटः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेम (प्रातिपदिक) + कूट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (हेमस्य कूटः)

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

• कैलासः: Kailāsa (name)
• कैलासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कैलास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पृथिवीजयः: Pṛthivījaya (conquest of the earth; name)
• पृथिवीजयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + जय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पृथिव्याः जयः)

• इन्द्रनीलः: Indranīla (sapphire; name)
• इन्द्रनीलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + नील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (इन्द्रवत् नीलः / इन्द्रस्य नीलः)

• महानीलः: Mahānīla (great blue; name)
• महानीलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + नील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् नीलः)

• भूधरः: Bhūdhara (mountain; earth-holder; name)
• भूधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (भूṃ धरति इति)

• रत्नकूटकः: Ratnakūṭaka (jewel-peak; name)
• रत्नकूटकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्न (प्रातिपदिक) + कूटक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रत्नस्य कूटकः)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mountain-named prāsādas within Prabhāsa (Himavān, Hemakūṭa, Kailāsa, etc.)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The narrator continues the list of prāsādas named after great mountains and gem-peaks: Himavān, Hemakūṭa, Kailāsa, Pṛthivījaya, Indranīla, Mahānīla, Bhūdhara, Ratnakūṭaka—each suggesting a distinct color and grandeur.

Characters & Entities

• Himavān (prāsāda)
• Hemakūṭa (prāsāda)
• Kailāsa (prāsāda)
• Pṛthivījaya (prāsāda)
• Indranīla (prāsāda)
• Mahānīla (prāsāda)
• Bhūdhara (prāsāda)
• Ratnakūṭaka (prāsāda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

By naming shrines after cosmic mountains, the text frames the kṣetra as a microcosm where the devotee symbolically traverses the universe in pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s Someśvara temple precinct, depicted as encircled by many named prāsādas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse continues the sacred inventory of the site.