Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सोमेशाद्दक्षिणाग्नेये सागरस्य समी पतः । संस्थिता तु महादेवी वडवानलधारिणी

Transliteration

someśāddakṣiṇāgneye sāgarasya samī pataḥ | saṃsthitā tu mahādevī vaḍavānaladhāriṇī

Translation

Südöstlich von Someśa, nahe dem Ozean, nahm die Große Göttin ihren Sitz ein—sie, die den Vaḍavānala, das unterseeische Feuer, trägt.

Word by Word

• सोमेशात्: from Someśa (place/Śiva as Someśa)
• सोमेशात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: someśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• दक्षिणाग्नेये: in the south-eastern (direction/region)
• दक्षिणाग्नेये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa-āgneya (प्रातिपदिक; दक्षिण + आग्नेय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; दिक्-विशेषणम् (प्रदेशे)

• सागरस्य: of the ocean
• सागरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• समीपतः: near, in the vicinity
• समीपतः: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samīpatas (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक-अव्ययम्/locative adverb)

• संस्थिता: is situated / stands
• संस्थिता: Kriyā (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + सम्- (उपसर्ग) → saṃsthita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is situated/has stood’

• तु: indeed, and/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle; विरोध/अन्वय)

• महादेवी: the great goddess
• महादेवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः

• वडवानलधारिणी: bearing the submarine fire (vaḍavānala)
• वडवानलधारिणी: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaḍavā-anala-dhāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक; वडवा + अनल + धारिणी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (महादेवी); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (वडवानलं धारयति इति)

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya; traditional frame: Sūta speaking to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Someśa-sannidhi (SE āgneya) Vaḍavānala-dhāriṇī-sthāna

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Near the sea, southeast of the Someśa shrine, Sarasvatī stands as Mahādevī, holding within her the Vaḍavānala; the ocean glows faintly beneath, while the temple landmark anchors the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Someśa
• Ocean (Sāgara)
• Mahādevī
• Vaḍavānala

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is not symbolic alone; it is mapped as lived dharma—where divine powers are stationed for the world’s welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra near Someśa and the seashore, identifying the locale of the Vaḍavānaladhāriṇī Devī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it provides directional placement for pilgrimage orientation.