Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

प्रभासे तु महादेवि तत्र द्वादशयोजने । वसिष्ठस्याश्रमे तत्र महर्षीणां महात्मनाम्

Transliteration

prabhāse tu mahādevi tatra dvādaśayojane | vasiṣṭhasyāśrame tatra maharṣīṇāṃ mahātmanām

Translation

In Prabhāsa, o große Göttin, innerhalb eines Umkreises von zwölf Yojanas, befand sich die Einsiedelei Vasiṣṭhas, Wohnstatt großherziger Mahārṣis.

Word by Word

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक — emphatic/contrastive

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Vocative singular

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• द्वादशयोजने: in the (area of) twelve yojanas
• द्वादशयोजने: Adhikarana (Location/Measure-locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादश-योजन (प्रातिपदिक; द्वादश + योजन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Locative singular; द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वक)

• वसिष्ठस्य: of Vasiṣṭha
• वसिष्ठस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• आश्रमे: in the hermitage
• आश्रमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• महर्षीणाम्: of the great sages
• महर्षीणाम्: Sambandha (Of whom/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन — Genitive plural

• महात्मनाम्: of the great-souled
• महात्मनाम्: Sambandha (Qualifier in genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Genitive plural; विशेषण (qualifier) महर्षीणाम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vasiṣṭha-āśrama (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene panorama of Prabhāsa’s sacred expanse: within a broad twelve-yojana mandala lies Vasiṣṭha’s hermitage, with thatched huts, sacred fires, and gathered maharṣis under trees near the coastal plain.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa
• Devī
• Vasiṣṭha
• Maharṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred lands are mapped not only by physical distance but by the presence of ṛṣi-āśramas that sustain dharma through tapas and teaching.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra broadly, with specific mention of Vasiṣṭha’s āśrama within its sacred circuit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse identifies a revered āśrama as part of the sacred landscape.