Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

यस्तमाराधयेद्देवं सर्पैराराधितं पुरा । न विषं क्रमते देहे तस्य जन्मावधि प्रिये

Transliteration

yastamārādhayeddevaṃ sarpairārādhitaṃ purā | na viṣaṃ kramate dehe tasya janmāvadhi priye

Translation

„Wer jene Gottheit verehrt, die einst von den Schlangen verehrt wurde, bei dem breitet sich das Gift im Körper nicht aus — sein ganzes Leben lang, o Geliebte.“

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• तम्: him/that (deity)
• तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; निर्देश्य-सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• आराधयेत्: should worship/propitiate
• आराधयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-राध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• देवम्: the god/deity
• देवम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• सर्पैः: by serpents
• सर्पैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• आराधितम्: worshipped/propitiated
• आराधितम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-राध् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘देवम्’ इति विशेषण

• पुरा: formerly/once
• पुरा: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• विषम्: poison/venom
• विषम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• क्रमते: advances/spreads/affects
• क्रमते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• जन्मावधि: for the duration of life (till death)
• जन्मावधि: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अवधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (indeclinable adverbial compound)

• प्रिये: O dear one
• प्रिये: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; स्त्रीसम्बोधन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-ārādhita liṅga (Śeṣa-pramukha-nāga-pratiṣṭhita)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (addressed as priye)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee worships the liṅga while a coiled serpent rests peacefully nearby; a faint aura surrounds the devotee’s body, symbolizing poison rendered inert.

Characters & Entities

• Deva (Śiva)
• Sarpas/Nāgas
• Viṣa (poison)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Śiva at a sanctified place is portrayed as granting both spiritual purification and tangible protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The serpent-venerated Śiva-liṅga in the Uttareśvara region of Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ārādhana—devotional worship of the deity associated with Nāgas.