Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । स्वनामांकित पत्रैस्तु श्रीपतिं योऽर्चयेत वै । सप्तलोकाननुप्राप्य सप्तद्वीपाधिपो भवेत्

Transliteration

śrīprahlāda uvāca | svanāmāṃkita patraistu śrīpatiṃ yo'rcayeta vai | saptalokānanuprāpya saptadvīpādhipo bhavet

Translation

Śrī Prahlāda sprach: Wer Śrīpati mit Blättern verehrt, die mit dem eigenen Namen beschriftet sind, gelangt zu den sieben Welten und wird Herrscher über die sieben Kontinente.

Word by Word

• श्रीप्रह्लादः: Śrī Prahlāda
• श्रीप्रह्लादः: Karta (वक्ता/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-प्रह्लाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बोधन-प्रस्तावक (speaker identification)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• स्वनामाङ्कितैः: with (leaves) marked with one’s own name
• स्वनामाङ्कितैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व-नाम-अङ्कित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (पत्रैः सह), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; अङ्कित = क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• पत्रैः: with leaves
• पत्रैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); विरोध/विशेषार्थे

• श्रीपतिम्: Śrīpati (Lord of Lakṣmī; Viṣṇu)
• श्रीपतिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• अर्चयेत्: should worship
• अर्चयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• सप्तलोकान्: the seven worlds
• सप्तलोकान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त-लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अनुप्राप्य: having attained
• अनुप्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); अव्ययभाव (indeclinable participle)

• सप्तद्वीपाधिपः: lord of the seven continents
• सप्तद्वीपाधिपः: Karta (कर्ता/भवति-सम्बन्धि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त-द्वीप-अधिप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Śrī Prahlāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Implied) pilgrims/devotees within the narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Prahlāda, serene and radiant, instructs devotees; a worshipper offers green leaves each inscribed with their own name to Śrīpati’s image; above, a cosmological vision of seven lokas and seven dvīpas appears like concentric realms.

Characters & Entities

• Prahlāda
• Śrīpati (Viṣṇu)
• Sapta-loka
• Sapta-dvīpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Simple offerings made with personal devotion (one’s name offered through leaves) are presented as highly efficacious in Viṣṇu worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The discourse occurs within Dvārakā Māhātmya, tying the practice to Dvārakā’s Vaiṣṇava devotional framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana (worship) of Śrīpati using leaves (patra) inscribed with the worshipper’s name.