Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

संक्षिप्तोऽसौ सरस्वत्या देवमात्रा महाप्रभः । तावत्स्थास्यत्यपां गर्भे यावन्मन्वतरावधिः

Transliteration

saṃkṣipto'sau sarasvatyā devamātrā mahāprabhaḥ | tāvatsthāsyatyapāṃ garbhe yāvanmanvatarāvadhiḥ

Translation

Jenes machtvolle Wesen wurde von Sarasvatī, der göttlichen Mutter, zusammengehalten und in sich geborgen. Es wird im Schoß der Wasser verweilen bis zum Ende des Manvantara.

Word by Word

• saṃkṣiptaḥ: compressed, reduced
• saṃkṣiptaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃkṣipta (कृदन्त; √kṣip क्षिप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृत्-प्रत्यय (क्त), कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः; adjectival past participle

• asau: he/that one
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sarasvatyā: by Sarasvatī
• sarasvatyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• deva-mātrā: by a divine measure (only)
• deva-mātrā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + mātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां मात्रा = divine measure/only as much as a god)

• mahāprabhaḥ: of great splendor
• mahāprabhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + prabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् प्रभः/प्रभावः यस्य)

• tāvat: so long, that much
• tāvat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/कालवाचक (adverb of extent/time)

• sthāsyati: will remain/stand
• sthāsyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• apām: of the waters
• apām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap (प्रातिपदिक; आप्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• garbhe: in the womb/inside
• garbhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• yāvat: until, as long as
• yāvat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-शब्दः (correlative adverb: 'until/as long as')

• manvantara-avadhiḥ: the limit/end of a Manvantara
• manvantara-avadhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manvantara (प्रातिपदिक) + avadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मन्वन्तरस्य अवधिः)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-tīrtha (Prabhāsa context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sarasvatī as a radiant mother-goddess stands over a vast body of water; within the waters a luminous, compressed fiery being is shown as a contained orb/embryo; above, a time-wheel indicates ‘until manvantara’s end’.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Devamātṛ (Divine Mother)
• Apāṃ garbha (womb of waters)
• Manvantara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine power is governed by cosmic order; even immense forces are restrained for the protection of the worlds until the proper time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage is part of Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, linking sacred waters and mythic events to the sanctity of Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse emphasizes the sanctity and cosmic significance of sacred waters.