Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

निधानेनैव सा ख्याता वापी त्रैलोक्यवंदिता

Transliteration

nidhānenaiva sā khyātā vāpī trailokyavaṃditā

Translation

Wegen jenes Schatzes (nidhāna) wurde dieser Stufenbrunnen berühmt, in den drei Welten verehrt und gepriesen.

Word by Word

• निधानेन: by/with the treasure
• निधानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• एव: indeed; only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• सा: she/that (well)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ख्याता: was known; became famous
• ख्याता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ख्या (धातु) → ख्यात (कृदन्त/PPP)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• वापी: a well/pond
• वापी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वापी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सा इति विशेष्य (apposition)

• त्रैलोक्यवंदिता: praised by the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यवंदिता: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य + वन्दित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); वापी इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nidhāna-vāpī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic depiction of the vāpī with celestial beings (gandharvas/apsarases) and human pilgrims offering salutations, visually conveying ‘trilokya-vandita’; the treasure motif appears as a subtle emblem (a chest icon) near the well’s name plaque.

Characters & Entities

• Vāpī (sacred step-well)
• Nidhāna (treasure)
• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places gain enduring fame when connected with divine or auspicious causes, and their sanctity becomes an object of universal reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A famed vāpī (step-well) within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, praised as ‘revered in the three worlds’.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is stated in this verse; it functions as a glorificatory identification of the tīrtha.