Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

यस्मात्त्वं मंत्रमेकाग्रो ध्यायन्वल्मीकमाश्रितः । तस्माद्वाल्मीकिनामा त्वं भविष्यसि महीतले

Transliteration

yasmāttvaṃ maṃtramekāgro dhyāyanvalmīkamāśritaḥ | tasmādvālmīkināmā tvaṃ bhaviṣyasi mahītale

Translation

Weil du das Mantra mit einspitzigem Geist betrachtet hast, Zuflucht nehmend im valmīka (Ameisenhügel), darum wirst du auf Erden unter dem Namen „Vālmīki“ berühmt werden.

Word by Word

• यस्मात्: because (of which), since
• यस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (relative pronoun; ‘because/from which’)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मन्त्रम्: mantra
• मन्त्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एकाग्रः: one-pointed, concentrated
• एकाग्रः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (एकं अग्रं यस्य/एकाग्रः = one-pointed)

• ध्यायन्: meditating
• ध्यायन्: Kriya (Concurrent action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु) → ध्यायत् (शतृ-कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ)

• वल्मीकम्: an anthill
• वल्मीकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वल्मीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आश्रितः: having taken refuge in, resorted to
• आश्रितः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु) → आश्रित (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used predicatively

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (correlative; ‘therefore/from that’)

• वाल्मीकि-नाम: named Vālmīki
• वाल्मीकि-नाम: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाल्मीकि (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीह्यर्थे तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (वाल्मीकि-नाम = ‘having the name Vālmīki’)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भविष्यसि: you will become
• भविष्यसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महीतले: on the surface of the earth
• महीतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महेः तलम्)

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The addressed sādhaka (future Vālmīki)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A meditating ascetic sits utterly still, partially covered by an anthill, while sages proclaim that his steadfast mantra-japa will make him famed as Vālmīki.

Characters & Entities

• Vālmīki
• Mantra
• Valmīka (anthill)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-pointed mantra-meditation and steadfast tapas transform one’s destiny and spiritual identity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya context; the immediate focus is Vālmīki’s tapas rather than naming a separate tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on ekāgratā (one-pointedness) in mantra-dhyāna/japa.