Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

अस्य क्षेत्रस्य मध्ये तु रवियोजनमध्यतः । उपक्षेत्राणि देवेशि संत्यन्यानि सहस्रशः

Transliteration

asya kṣetrasya madhye tu raviyojanamadhyataḥ | upakṣetrāṇi deveśi saṃtyanyāni sahasraśaḥ

Translation

In der Mitte dieses Kṣetra — innerhalb des zentralen Maßes einer Ravi-Yojana, o Deveśī — bestehen tausendfach andere Upakṣetras, untergeordnete heilige Bezirke.

Word by Word

• अस्य: of this
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-रूपम् (genitive singular: 'of this')

• क्षेत्रस्य: of the field/region
• क्षेत्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरणे (locative)

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

• रवि-योजन-मध्यतः: from the center of a yojana (measured by the sun)
• रवि-योजन-मध्यतः: Adhikarana (Spatial reference/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक) + yojana (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; 'रवियोजनस्य मध्यतः' इति; मध्यतः = तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb: 'from the middle/center')

• उपक्षेत्राणि: sub-fields/secondary regions
• उपक्षेत्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upa-kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; उप-उपसर्गपूर्वक-समास/उपपद-तत्पुरुष (subsidiary fields)

• देवेशि: O goddess (lady of the gods)
• देवेशि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• सन्ति: are/exist
• सन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying उपक्षेत्राणि)

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; शस्-प्रत्ययान्त (distributive adverb: 'by thousands/ in thousands')

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (central ravi-yojana zone)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Deveśī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like sacred mandala of Prabhāsa: a central luminous zone with countless small shrine-markers radiating within a measured circle; the narrator addresses Deveśī while indicating the region’s inner expanse.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Deveśī)
• Upakṣetra
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A great tīrtha is not a single point but a sacred landscape with many spiritually charged sub-sites supporting pilgrimage and practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, presented as a vast pilgrimage complex with innumerable upakṣetras.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction; it provides a sacred-geographical description to guide pilgrimage understanding.