Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ततस्तन्निरतो भूत्वा सर्वैस्तै राक्षसेश्वरः । पूजयामास देवेशि उपवासपरायणः

Transliteration

tatastannirato bhūtvā sarvaistai rākṣaseśvaraḥ | pūjayāmāsa deveśi upavāsaparāyaṇaḥ

Translation

Daraufhin, ganz in jene Verehrung vertieft und mit all diesen Gaben, verehrte der Herr der Rākṣasas, o Göttin, den Herrn der Götter, dem Fasten hingegeben.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• tat-nirataḥ: intent on that, devoted to it
• tat-nirataḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + nirata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √ram/रम् with नि-)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (तस्मिन् निरतः = devoted to that); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Kriya (Auxiliary action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) = having become

• sarvaiḥ: with all
• sarvaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘all’ (instrumental)

• taiḥ: with those (things)
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; refers to items/means

• rākṣasa-īśvaraḥ: lord of the rākṣasas
• rākṣasa-īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (राक्षसानाम् ईश्वरः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pūjayāmāsa: worshipped
• pūjayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु) + ṇic (प्रेरण)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद, perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative nuance = ‘caused worship’ → ‘worshipped’

• deveśi: O goddess (Deveśī)
• deveśi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; vocative संबोधन

• upavāsa-parāyaṇaḥ: devoted to fasting
• upavāsa-parāyaṇaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upavāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (उपवासे परायणः = devoted to fasting); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

Speaker

Aśarīriṇī Vāk (disembodied voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ekānta-guhā-liṅga (Prabhāsa)

Type: cave

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (explicit vocative 'deveśi' in the verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The rākṣasa-lord, fully absorbed, worships with many offerings and undertakes fasting; the cave-shrine glows with lamp-light and devotional stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Rāvaṇa
• Devī (Deveśī)
• Somēśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is strengthened by discipline; fasting (upavāsa) supports focused worship and inner purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somēśvara in Prabhāsakṣetra, where vrata-like worship is highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upavāsa (fasting) undertaken alongside pūjā as a devotional observance (vrata).