Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तत्रोद्गता महातालास्तेन तालवनं स्मृतम् । अथ करतले लग्नं कपालं ब्रह्मणो मम

Transliteration

tatrodgatā mahātālāstena tālavanaṃ smṛtam | atha karatale lagnaṃ kapālaṃ brahmaṇo mama

Translation

Dort sprossen große Palmyrapalmen empor; daher wurde es als Tālavana bekannt. Dann blieb Brahmās Schädel fest an meiner Handfläche kleben.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb: there)

• उद्गताः: sprang up, arose
• उद्गताः: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (महातालाः इति कर्तरि)

• महातालाः: great palmyra trees
• महातालाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-ताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• तेन: therefore, by that
• तेन: Hetu/Karana (Cause/means/हेतु/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• तालवनम्: the palmyra-grove (Tālavana)
• तालवनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताल-वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• स्मृतम्: was called, was known as
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि (was called/remembered)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (particle: then/now)

• करतले: in the palm (of the hand)
• करतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर-तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• लग्नम्: stuck, attached
• लग्नम्: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लग् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (कपालम् इति कर्तरि/स्थित्यर्थे)

• कपालम्: skull-bowl, skull
• कपालम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• मम: of me
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tālavana (associated sacred grove)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience in the Prabhāsa-māhātmya frame (not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grove erupts with tall palmyra trees; Śiva looks at his palm where Brahmā’s skull adheres, unable to be shaken off—an ominous yet wondrous sign.

Characters & Entities

• Tālavana
• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Brahmā
• Kapāla (skull)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Places gain sacred identity through divine events; names like Tālavana encode memory of mythic happenings tied to purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tālavana is mentioned as a remembered sacred locale within the larger Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse provides mythic etiology (name-origin) and the kapāla-bondage motif.