Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

तेनैवमुक्ता सा देवी वाडवेनाग्निना तदा । सस्मार कारणात्मानं विष्णुं कमललोचनम्

Transliteration

tenaivamuktā sā devī vāḍavenāgninā tadā | sasmāra kāraṇātmānaṃ viṣṇuṃ kamalalocanam

Translation

So von jenem Vāḍava-Feuer angesprochen, gedachte die Göttin sogleich Viṣṇus—der ursächlichen Seele, lotusäugig—und rief Ihn im Geist an.

Word by Word

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Kartr̥/Instrument (करण/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; ‘by him/with that’

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb: ‘thus’)

• उक्ता: having been spoken to
• उक्ता: Karta-predicative (कर्तृसम्बन्धि विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वच् (धातु) → उक्त (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘addressed/said to’

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘she’

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Apposition to Karta (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘goddess’

• वाडवेन: by the Vāḍava (submarine)
• वाडवेन: Viśeṣaṇa of instrument (करण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाडव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; ‘by the submarine (fire)’ (qualifying अग्निना)

• अग्निना: by fire
• अग्निना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; ‘by fire’

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: ‘then’)

• सस्मार: remembered
• सस्मार: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; √स्मृ ‘remembered’

• कारणात्मानम्: the causal Self / the cause-soul
• कारणात्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/कर्मधारयार्थे): कारणस्य आत्मा/कारणरूप आत्मा; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• विष्णुम्: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म) (appositional with कारणात्मानम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• कमललोचनम्: lotus-eyed
• कमललोचनम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कमल + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: कमलस्य लोचनम् (lotus-like eyes); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विष्णु-विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (king/sages in typical māhātmya setting)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sarasvatī, stirred by the terrifying Vāḍava-fire, closes her eyes and inwardly remembers lotus-eyed Viṣṇu as the causal soul; the sea’s depths glow with restrained fire while a calm inner radiance appears in her heart-lotus.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Śāradā)
• Vaḍavānala
• Viṣṇu
• Kāraṇātman (Causal Self)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic Dharma presents divine powers as coordinated—when a boon arises, the Goddess aligns it with the supreme causal principle (Viṣṇu) for the welfare of the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, whose Māhātmya includes multi-deity theology (Devī, Fire, and Viṣṇu) grounding the place’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the act described is smaraṇa (devotional remembrance), a core Purāṇic practice.