Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

इंद्रलोकादिहानीता जित्वा शक्रं सुरारिणा । दशाननस्य पुत्रेण लंकायां स्थापिता पुरा

Transliteration

iṃdralokādihānītā jitvā śakraṃ surāriṇā | daśānanasya putreṇa laṃkāyāṃ sthāpitā purā

Translation

Einst, nachdem Śakra (Indra) besiegt worden war, trug der Feind der Götter sie aus Indras Welt fort und stellte sie vor langer Zeit auf Laṅkā auf — durch den Sohn Daśānanas (Rāvaṇa).

Word by Word

• indra-lokāt: from Indra’s world
• indra-lokāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘इन्द्रस्य लोकः’); पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb)

• ānītā: was brought
• ānītā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√nī (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कर्मणि-भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘was brought’

• jitvā: having conquered
• jitvā: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Gerundial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ji (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive) ‘having conquered’

• śakram: Śakra (Indra)
• śakram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• sura-ariṇā: by the enemy of the gods
• sura-ariṇā: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘सुराणाम् अरिः’); पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• daśa-ānanasya: of Daśānana (ten-faced, Rāvaṇa)
• daśa-ānanasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (‘दश आननानि यस्य’ → ‘दशानन’); पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• putreṇa: by (his) son
• putreṇa: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• laṅkāyām: in Laṅkā
• laṅkāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laṅkā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• sthāpitā: was installed
• sthāpitā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + ita (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कर्मणि-भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• purā: formerly, long ago
• purā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context of the adhyāya dialogue)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic flashback: a powerful asura figure, identified as the son of Daśānana, defeats Indra and carries a radiant divine image from Indra’s heaven to Laṅkā, where it is installed.

Characters & Entities

• Indraloka
• Śakra (Indra)
• Daśānana (Rāvaṇa)
• Rāvaṇa’s son
• Laṅkā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even when sacred symbols are displaced by conflict, their sanctity endures and later becomes a source of tīrtha-glory when rightly established.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsa), within the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated in this verse; it provides the sacred provenance of the image that will be praised for darśana and protection.