Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

ततो वाराणसीं प्राप्तस्तद्भयात्त्रिपुरांतकः । तत्राऽपि च तथा दृष्ट्वा धृतचापं मनोभवम्

Transliteration

tato vārāṇasīṃ prāptastadbhayāttripurāṃtakaḥ | tatrā'pi ca tathā dṛṣṭvā dhṛtacāpaṃ manobhavam

Translation

Daraufhin gelangte Tripurāntaka (Śiva) aus Furcht vor ihm nach Vārāṇasī. Auch dort, als er Manobhava (Kāma) mit gespanntem Bogen sah, fand er dieselbe Lage vor.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/हेतुवाचक (adverb: then/from there)

• वाराणसीम्: Vārāṇasī
• वाराणसीम्: Karma (Goal/कर्म-गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्तः: having reached
• प्राप्तः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle, क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तद्भयात्: from fear of that (him)
• तद्भयात्: Apadana (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (तस्य भयम्)

• त्रिपुरान्तकः: Tripurāntaka (Śiva)
• त्रिपुरान्तकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुर (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (त्रिपुरस्य अन्तकः)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb: there)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अवधान (also/even)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction: and)

• तथा: thus; likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: thus/in that manner)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Gerund/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + क्त्वा (अव्यय-कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having seen)

• धृतचापम्: (him) holding a bow
• धृतचापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + चाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (धृतं चापं यस्य)

• मनोभवम्: Manobhava (Kāma)
• मनोभवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक) + भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मनसः भवः)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king is addressed (‘nṛpa’) in the surrounding verses; immediate listener framed as the royal interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as Tripurāntaka arrives at Kāśī’s ghāṭs and temples; amid the sacred city’s lamps and river mist, he beholds Kāma (Manobhava) standing firm with bow drawn, as if the same challenge has followed him into the holiest space.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Tripurāntaka (Śiva)
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Manobhava (Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography interlinks tīrthas; divine movement across places highlights their shared sanctity under Śiva’s presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) is explicitly named, appearing within the wider Arbuda-Kāmeśvara narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated in this verse; it continues the sthala-kathā through Śiva’s journey to Kāśī.