Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

धनुषां सप्तके देवि नातिदूरे व्यवस्थितम् । स्थापितं तन्महालिंगं वसूनामष्टमेन हि

Transliteration

dhanuṣāṃ saptake devi nātidūre vyavasthitam | sthāpitaṃ tanmahāliṃgaṃ vasūnāmaṣṭamena hi

Translation

O Göttin, es ist nicht weit — in einer Entfernung von sieben Bogenlängen. Dieser große Liṅga wurde wahrlich vom achten der Vasus errichtet.

Word by Word

• धनुषाम्: of bows
• धनुषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive of measure/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; परिमाण-सम्बन्ध (of bows: measure)

• सप्तके: in a group of seven (i.e., seven bow-lengths)
• सप्तके: Adhikarana (Measure/location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (within a set of seven)

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Negation/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• अतिदूरे: too far away
• अतिदूरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतिदूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (locative: too far)

• व्यवस्थितम्: situated
• व्यवस्थितम्: Kriya (Predicate complement/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + अव + स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (situated/standing)

• स्थापितम्: established
• स्थापितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) (णिच्: स्थापयति) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (was established)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Demonstrative/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of महालिङ्गम्)

• महालिङ्गम्: the great liṅga
• महालिङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (महच्च तत् लिङ्गम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वसूनाम्: of the Vasus
• वसूनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (of the Vasus)

• अष्टमेन: by the eighth (Vasu)
• अष्टमेन: Karana (Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; करण (agent/instrumental: by the eighth)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/हेतु-निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāseśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A close-by coastal shrine is indicated with a traditional distance measure; the narrative highlights a radiant mahāliṅga installed by a Vasu, suggesting celestial presence around the sanctum.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pārvatī (Devī)
• Prabhāseśvara
• Vasus
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sanctity of a kṣetra is reinforced through divine/ancient consecration narratives and precise sacred topography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāseśvara’s mahā-liṅga in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it states the consecration (sthāpana) of the liṅga by the eighth Vasu.