Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

इत्युक्तो विश्वकर्मा स भूमिं वीक्ष्य समंततः । उवाच प्रणतो भूत्वा शंकरं लोकशंकरम्

Transliteration

ityukto viśvakarmā sa bhūmiṃ vīkṣya samaṃtataḥ | uvāca praṇato bhūtvā śaṃkaraṃ lokaśaṃkaram

Translation

So angesprochen, überschautе Viśvakarmā das Land nach allen Seiten; dann verneigte er sich ehrfürchtig und sprach zu Śaṅkara, dem Wohltäter der Welten.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• उक्तः: having been told
• उक्तः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘having been told/addressed’

• विश्वकर्मा: Viśvakarmā
• विश्वकर्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Pronoun)

• भूमिम्: the ground/land
• भूमिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वीक्ष्य: having examined/seen
• वीक्ष्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष् (धातु) + ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययार्थ)
• Form: अव्यय-कृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having looked (at)’

• समन्ततः: on all sides, all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• प्रणतः: bowed
• प्रणतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + नम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘bowed down’

• भूत्वा: having become (i.e., being)
• भूत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु) + क्त्वा
• Form: अव्यय-कृदन्त (Gerund), ‘having become/being’

• शंकरम्: Śaṅkara
• शंकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• लोकशंकरम्: benefactor of the world
• लोकशंकरम्: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक + शंकर (प्रातिपदिक); लोकशंकर (समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘लोकस्य शंकरः’

Speaker

Narrator (describing Viśvakarmā’s response)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viśvakarmā circles and surveys the land in all directions, then bows and addresses Śaṅkara, ‘lokaśaṅkara’; the landscape feels measured and sanctified.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvakarmā
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sacred construction requires careful discernment of place, guided by reverence and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra and its sanctified terrain, worthy of deliberate evaluation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it implies the dharmic principle of proper site examination (bhū-parīkṣā) before building.