Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि तयोरुत्तरसंस्थितम् । तथा वायव्यदिग्भागे ब्रह्मणो बालरूपिणः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi tayoruttarasaṃsthitam | tathā vāyavyadigbhāge brahmaṇo bālarūpiṇaḥ

Translation

Īśvara sprach: „Dann, o große Göttin, soll man zu dem Ort gehen, der nördlich von jenen (Heiligtümern) liegt. Ebenso befindet sich im nordwestlichen Viertel eine Erscheinung Brahmās in Gestalt eines Kindes.“

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriya-Viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: then/from there)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādevī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• tayoḥ: of those two
• tayoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• uttarasaṃsthitam: situated to the north / in the northern position
• uttarasaṃsthitam: Gati-Karma (Goal/गतिकर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (उत्तरे संस्थितम्)

• tathā: likewise, also
• tathā: Kriya-Viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: likewise/also)

• vāyavya-dig-bhāge: in the north-western quarter/part
• vāyavya-dig-bhāge: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyavya (प्रातिपदिक) + diś (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (वायव्यायां दिशि भागे)

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• bālarūpiṇaḥ: who has the form of a child
• bālarūpiṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (बालरूपः)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bāla-Brahmā sthāna (north-west of prior shrines) in Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara instructs the Devī, pointing toward the north and then the north-west; in the vāyavya quarter a radiant child-form Brahmā appears near a small shrine or altar, suggesting innocence and primordial creation.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Brahmā (Bālarūpa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is also a disciplined journey through sacred space; moving shrine-to-shrine with awareness is part of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, presented as a mapped sacred landscape with multiple divine stations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage instruction is given: proceed to the northern site, and then to the north-western quarter where Brahmā’s child-form is present.