Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि चित्रेश्वर मनुत्तमम् । धनुषां सप्तके तस्य स्थितमाग्नेयदक्षिणे

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi citreśvara manuttamam | dhanuṣāṃ saptake tasya sthitamāgneyadakṣiṇe

Translation

Īśvara sprach: „Dann, o Große Göttin, soll man zum höchst vortrefflichen Citreśvara gehen. Er liegt sieben Bogenlängen entfernt, nach Südosten.“

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थे (then/thereafter)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः

• citreśvaram: to Citreśvara
• citreśvaram: Karma (Object/Goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citra-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (चित्रः ईश्वरः)

• anu-uttamam: unsurpassed
• anu-uttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anu + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (citreśvaram); ‘अनुत्तम’ = unsurpassed

• dhanuṣām: of bows (as a measure)
• dhanuṣām: Sambandha (Genitive measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• saptake: at (the measure of) seven
• saptake: Adhikarana (Measure/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; प्रमाणे (at a distance of seven)

• tasya: of it/of that (place)
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sthitam: situated
• sthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (citreśvaram implied liṅgam/स्थलम्)

• āgneya-dakṣiṇe: in the southeast
• āgneya-dakṣiṇe: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āgneya (प्रातिपदिक) + dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (आग्नेयं च तत् दक्षिणं च) दिक्-निर्देशे

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Citreśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśvara) instructs Pārvatī on the next stop in the Prabhāsa pilgrimage circuit, indicating the south-eastern direction and the short measured distance to Citreśvara; a coastal sacred plain with shrines aligned like a ritual map.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Citreśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is mapped as a disciplined spiritual journey, where even directions and distances become part of sacred remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Citreśvara, a revered Śiva-liṅga in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Instruction to visit (gacchet) Citreśvara; no additional rite is specified in this verse.