Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

मर्यादार्थं मयाऽनीता क्षेत्रस्यास्य महेश्वरि । संस्थिता पापशमनी पर्णादित्याच्च दक्षिणे

Transliteration

maryādārthaṃ mayā'nītā kṣetrasyāsya maheśvari | saṃsthitā pāpaśamanī parṇādityācca dakṣiṇe

Translation

„Um die heilige Grenze dieses geweih­ten Gebietes festzulegen, o Maheśvarī, brachte ich sie hierher. Der sündenvernichtende Fluss liegt südlich von Parṇāditya.“

Word by Word

• maryādā-artham: for the sake of a boundary
• maryādā-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maryādā (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (maryādāyāḥ arthaḥ = for the sake of boundary/limit)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agent-instrumental/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• anītā: brought
• anītā: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (नी धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; (आनीता = ā + nīta)

• kṣetrasya: of the sacred field
• kṣetrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive determiner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• maheśvari: O Maheśvarī
• maheśvari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• saṃsthitā: situated
• saṃsthitā: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; (सम् + स्थित)

• pāpa-śamanī: sin-destroying
• pāpa-śamanī: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śamanī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (pāpānāṃ śamanī = remover of sins)

• parṇādityāt: from Parṇāditya
• parṇādityāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (parṇāditya-नामकात्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• dakṣiṇe: to the south / on the southern side
• dakṣiṇe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nyanku-matī (south of Parṇāditya)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Maheśvarī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara explains that he brought the river Nyanku-matī to establish the boundary of the kṣetra; the river is shown stationed south of a landmark shrine/solar site named Parṇāditya, radiating sin-destroying power.

Characters & Entities

• Nyanku-matī River
• Parṇāditya
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Maheśvarī (Devī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine arrangement establishes sacred geography: tīrthas are placed to protect, define, and purify a holy kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Nyanku-matī river is praised as pāpa-śamanī and located south of Parṇāditya in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse provides a location cue for pilgrimage orientation.