Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । भगवन्देवदेवेश संसारार्णवतारक । सरस्वत्याश्च माहात्म्यं विस्तरात्कथयस्व मे

Transliteration

devyuvāca | bhagavandevadeveśa saṃsārārṇavatāraka | sarasvatyāśca māhātmyaṃ vistarātkathayasva me

Translation

Die Göttin sprach: O seliger Herr, Herr der Götter, Retter, der die Wesen über den Ozean des Saṃsāra hinüberträgt—verkünde mir ausführlich die Größe Sarasvatīs.

Word by Word

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (Nominative); एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bhagavan: O Blessed Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• deva: O god
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• deveśa: O Lord of gods
• deveśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva-īśa (प्रातिपदिक; देव + ईश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• saṃsārārṇavatāraka: O savior across the ocean of saṃsāra
• saṃsārārṇavatāraka: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra-arṇava-tāraka (प्रातिपदिक; संसार + अर्णव + तारक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• sarasvatyāḥ: of Sarasvatī
• sarasvatyāḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (Genitive); एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• māhātmyam: glory, greatness
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (Accusative); एकवचन

• vistarāt: in detail
• vistarāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्तम्; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययवत् (ablatival adverb)

• kathayasva: tell, narrate
• kathayasva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (धातु; कथय—णिजन्त from कथ्/कथ)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative); मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• me: to me
• me: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: उभयलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (Dative); एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhagavān Devadeveśa (Lord as teacher)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī respectfully addresses the Lord, praising him as Devadeveśa and the ferryman across saṃsāra, requesting a detailed exposition of Sarasvatī’s māhātmya; a calm teaching setting near a sacred landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Approaching dharma through inquiry—reverent questioning opens the way to understanding tīrtha-māhātmya and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sarasvatī in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra context, introduced as a subject of māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription yet—this verse initiates the request for detailed teaching on Sarasvatī’s greatness and related rites.