Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

नक्षत्रितयं पादे वायव्ये तु यशस्विनि । वारुणं चैव नक्षत्रं तथा प्रोष्ठपदाद्वयम्

Transliteration

nakṣatritayaṃ pāde vāyavye tu yaśasvini | vāruṇaṃ caiva nakṣatraṃ tathā proṣṭhapadādvayam

Translation

Am Fuß im Nordwesten, o Ruhmreiche, befindet sich eine Triade von Nakṣatras: das Vāruṇa-Nakṣatra (Śatabhiṣaj) sowie das Paar Proṣṭhapadā (Pūrva- und Uttara-Proṣṭhapadā).

Word by Word

• नक्षत्रितयम्: a triad of nakṣatras
• नक्षत्रितयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र + त्रितय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'triad of nakṣatras' (नक्षत्राणां त्रितयम्)

• पादे: in the foot
• पादे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — 'in/on the foot'

• वायव्ये: in the north-west
• वायव्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — 'in the north-west'

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विशेषार्थक (particle)

• यशस्विनि: O illustrious lady
• यशस्विनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यशस्विनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन — संबोधन (address)

• वारुणम्: Vāruṇa (Śatabhiṣaj nakṣatra)
• वारुणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — नक्षत्रनाम (शतभिषक्)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha-bodhaka (Emphasis particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक

• नक्षत्रम्: nakṣatra
• नक्षत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक

• प्रोष्ठपदाद्वयम्: the pair of Proṣṭhapadā (Pūrvā/Uttarā)
• प्रोष्ठपदाद्वयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रोष्ठपद + द्वय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'pair of Proṣṭhapadā' (प्रोष्ठपदयोः द्वयम्)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Umā addressed as yśasvinī/priyā/mahādevī across verses

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic tortoise diagram overlaid with the sky: on the north-western foot a triad of nakṣatras is inscribed—Śatabhiṣaj (Vāruṇa) and the twin Proṣṭhapadās—glowing like star-clusters, with Prabhāsa shown as a luminous coastal kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Śatabhiṣaj (Vāruṇa)
• Pūrva-Proṣṭhapadā
• Uttara-Proṣṭhapadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It reinforces the vision of Bhārata as a sacred, divinely ordered body where even directional space is sanctified through celestial correspondences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named in this verse; it belongs to the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya’s wider sacred-geography discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.