Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

प्रभासक्षेत्रमास्थाय भित्त्वाऽविर्भावमास्थितम् । वज्रेण रुंधिते देवि भित्त्वा चैव वसुंधराम्

Transliteration

prabhāsakṣetramāsthāya bhittvā'virbhāvamāsthitam | vajreṇa ruṃdhite devi bhittvā caiva vasuṃdharām

Translation

In Prabhāsa-kṣetra nahm es seinen Stand, durchbrach die Schranke und trat offen hervor. Obgleich vom Vajra gebändigt, o Göttin, brach es dennoch hervor und spaltete sogar die Erde.

Word by Word

• प्रभासक्षेत्रम्: the Prabhāsa sacred field
• प्रभासक्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रभासस्य क्षेत्रम्)

• आस्थाय: having taken refuge in / having entered
• आस्थाय: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to main action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having resorted to/entered’; √स्था with उपसर्ग ‘आ’

• भित्त्वा: having pierced/split
• भित्त्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund), ‘having split/broken’

• अविर्भावम्: manifestation, appearance
• अविर्भावम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविर्भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आस्थितम्: assumed/attained
• आस्थितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि-कृदन्त (Past passive participle, क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘attained/assumed’ (context: assumed manifestation)

• वज्रेण: with a thunderbolt
• वज्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• रुंधिते: when (it was) obstructed
• रुंधिते: Adhikarana (Locative circumstance/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुध् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि-कृदन्त (Past passive participle), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; नपुंसक/पुं-सम्भाव्य (contextual) ‘when obstructed/blocked’

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

• भित्त्वा: having split
• भित्त्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• वसुंधराम्: the earth
• वसुंधराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुंधरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra prādurbhāva-sthāna (manifestation point of the liṅga)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa, the liṅga breaks through restraint and splits the earth, manifesting openly; the ground cracks with light pouring out, forming a revealed liṅga.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Vajra
• Earth (Vasundharā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s sanctity is presented as divinely self-revealing—no worldly force can permanently obstruct dharma and divine manifestation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, specifically the Mahāprabhāsa manifestation episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse establishes the site’s authority through a miraculous emergence.