Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

प्रधानदेवमाहात्म्यं माहात्म्यं कल्पवासिनाम् । सोमेशो दैत्यहंता च वालरूपी पितामहः

Transliteration

pradhānadevamāhātmyaṃ māhātmyaṃ kalpavāsinām | someśo daityahaṃtā ca vālarūpī pitāmahaḥ

Translation

Verkündet wird die Größe der Hauptgottheit und die Größe derer, die dort eine Kalpa lang weilen: dort ist Someśa, der Bezwinger der Asuras, und Pitāmaha (Brahmā) in der Gestalt eines Kindes.

Word by Word

• pradhānadevamāhātmyam: the glory of the chief deity
• pradhānadevamāhātmyam: Karma (Topic/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradhāna-deva-māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक; प्रधान + देव + माहात्म्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (contextually object/topic)

• māhātmyam: the greatness/glory
• māhātmyam: Karma (Topic/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (appositional)

• kalpavāsinām: of the dwellers of (that) kalpa
• kalpavāsinām: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa-vāsin (प्रातिपदिक; कल्प + वासिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; बहुवचन

• someśaḥ: Someśa (Lord of Soma)
• someśaḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: soma-īśa (प्रातिपदिक; सोम + ईश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• daityahantā: slayer of demons
• daityahantā: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya-hantṛ (प्रातिपदिक; दैत्य + हन्तृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• vālarūpī: one having the form of a child
• vālarūpī: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāla-rūpin (प्रातिपदिक; वाल + रूपिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• pitāmahaḥ: Pitāmaha (Brahmā/grandsire)
• pitāmahaḥ: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Goddess) and/or the inquiring interlocutor in the Prabhāsa-māhātmya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Prabhāsa-kṣetra tableau: Someshvara as the principal liṅga-deity radiating moonlike coolness; nearby a fierce demon-slaying form (daitya-hantā) and Brahmā (Pitāmaha) astonishingly depicted as a luminous child-sage, all within a sacred coastal landscape with pilgrims approaching in reverence.

Characters & Entities

• Someśa
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Daityas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prabhāsa is presented as a multi-deity sacred landscape where major divine forms bestow distinct kinds of protection and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra broadly, introducing its principal divine presences (including Someśa and Bālarūpī Pitāmaha).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implied practice of kalpa-vāsa (long sacred residence/observance) is referenced, though details are not given in this verse.