Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

कपाली चैव देवेशः करवीरं तथा पुनः । ओंकारं परमं पुण्यं वशिष्ठाश्रममेव च । यत्र कोटिः स्मृता देवि रुद्राणां कामरूपिणाम्

Transliteration

kapālī caiva deveśaḥ karavīraṃ tathā punaḥ | oṃkāraṃ paramaṃ puṇyaṃ vaśiṣṭhāśramameva ca | yatra koṭiḥ smṛtā devi rudrāṇāṃ kāmarūpiṇām

Translation

Dort sind Kapālī und auch Deveśa; ebenso Karavīra wiederum; Oṃkāra, höchst heilig; und auch der Āśrama des Vaśiṣṭha—wo, o Devī, eines Koṭi (Crore) Rudras gedacht wird, die nach Wunsch Gestalt annehmen und dort weilen.

Word by Word

• kapālī: Kapālī (a name/epithet of Śiva)
• kapālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction: 'and')

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• deveśaḥ: Lord of the gods
• deveśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (deva-īśa = 'lord of gods')

• karavīram: Karavīra (a sacred place/name)
• karavīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karavīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tathā: also/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha/Adverbial (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: 'thus/also')

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Sambandha/Adverbial (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: 'again/further')

• oṃkāram: Oṃkāra (the syllable Oṃ)
• oṃkāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying oṃkāram/puṇyam)

• puṇyam: holy/meritorious
• puṇyam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying oṃkāram)

• vaśiṣṭhāśramam: Vaśiṣṭha’s hermitage
• vaśiṣṭhāśramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaśiṣṭha + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Vaśiṣṭha-āśrama = 'hermitage of Vaśiṣṭha')

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction: 'and')

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: 'where')

• koṭiḥ: a crore/ten million; a multitude
• koṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• smṛtā: is said/remembered
• smṛtā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थ (as 'is said/remembered')

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• rudrāṇām: of the Rudras
• rudrāṇām: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kāmarūpiṇām: of those who assume forms at will
• kāmarūpiṇām: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural); उपपद/तत्पुरुष (kāma-rūpin = 'having form at will'); विशेषण (qualifying rudrāṇām)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālī; Deveśa; Karavīra; Oṃkāra; Vaśiṣṭhāśrama (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (explicitly addressed: ‘देवि’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand sacred tableau: Kapālī and Deveśa liṅgas in adjacent sanctums; a Karavīra grove; an Oṃkāra shrine with the praṇava symbol glowing above a liṅga; Vaśiṣṭha seated in an āśrama with a kamandalu; in the sky and around the grove, countless subtle Rudra-forms shimmer, each taking varied shapes (kāmarūpin).

Characters & Entities

• Kapālī
• Deveśa
• Karavīra
• Oṃkāra
• Vaśiṣṭhāśrama
• Rudras
• Devī
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prabhāsa is not merely a place but a living Śaiva cosmos—inhabited in memory and presence by innumerable Rudra-powers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, especially the sites named Kapālī, Deveśa, Karavīra, Oṃkāra, and Vaśiṣṭhāśrama.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse implicitly commends tīrtha-darśana and smaraṇa (recollection) of the Rudras’ presence.