Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि सुपर्णेलां च भैरवीम् । दुर्गकूटाद्दक्षिणतो धनुःपंचशतांतरे

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi suparṇelāṃ ca bhairavīm | durgakūṭāddakṣiṇato dhanuḥpaṃcaśatāṃtare

Translation

Īśvara sprach: „Dann, o große Göttin, soll man zu Suparṇelā, der Bhairavī, gehen. Sie liegt südlich von Durgakūṭa, in einer Entfernung von fünfhundert Dhanus.“

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative Singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect, Parasmaipada, 3rd person singular

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (then/thereafter)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Injunctive/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Optative, Parasmaipada, 3rd person singular

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādevī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative Singular; कर्मधारय (‘महती देवी’)

• suparṇelām: Suparṇelā (place/river)
• suparṇelām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suparṇelā (प्रातिपदिक; स्थान/देवी-नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• bhairavīm: Bhairavī (goddess/place)
• bhairavīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhairavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative Singular

• durgakūṭāt: from Durgakūṭa
• durgakūṭāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durgakūṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन — Masculine, Ablative Singular; तत्पुरुष (दुर्गस्य कूटः)

• dakṣiṇataḥ: to the south (of)
• dakṣiṇataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Directional locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dakṣiṇataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: दिशावाचक-अव्यय (directional adverb: southwards/to the south)

• dhanuḥ-pañcaśata-antare: at a distance of five hundred bow-lengths
• dhanuḥ-pañcaśata-antare: Adhikaraṇa (Measure/Distance locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanuḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + pañcaśata (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative Singular; तत्पुरुष (‘धनुषां पञ्चशतानाम् अन्तरे’ = at a distance of 500 bows)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Suparṇelā (Bhairavī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī/Devī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśvara) instructs the Goddess on a coastal pilgrimage route: a stylized hill/fort-like Durgakūṭa, and to its south a fierce yet auspicious Bhairavī shrine labeled Suparṇelā; pilgrims moving with staffs.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī
• Suparṇelā
• Bhairavī
• Durgakūṭa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred practice includes purposeful yātrā—moving from one sanctified spot to another as instructed by the Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Suparṇelā Bhairavī, situated south of Durgakūṭa in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yātrā instruction: proceed to Suparṇelā Bhairavī, with a directional and distance marker.