Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

भार्यया वरुणस्यैव उषा नाम्न्या वरानने । कृत्वा तपो महाघोरं भर्तृदुःखपरीतया

Transliteration

bhāryayā varuṇasyaiva uṣā nāmnyā varānane | kṛtvā tapo mahāghoraṃ bhartṛduḥkhaparītayā

Translation

O du Schönangesichtige! Uṣā, die eigene Gemahlin Varuṇas, von Kummer um ihren Gatten umfangen, vollzog überaus furchtbare Askesen.

Word by Word

• भार्यया: by the wife
• भार्यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचनम्; ‘by/with the wife’

• वरुणस्य: of Varuṇa
• वरुणस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6/सम्बन्ध), एकवचनम्

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/अवधारण) — ‘indeed’

• उषा: Uṣā
• उषा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उषा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/कर्ता), एकवचनम्

• नाम्न्या: by name
• नाम्न्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचनम्; ‘by name’ (नाम्ना/नाम्न्या वैदिक/पौराणिक प्रयोग)

• वरानने: O fair-faced one
• वरानने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरानना (प्रातिपदिक: वर + आनना)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचनम्; ‘O fair-faced one’

• कृत्वा: having performed
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund) — ‘having done’

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), एकवचनम्

• महाघोरम्: very terrible
• महाघोरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाघोर (प्रातिपदिक: महा + घोर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; तपः इति विशेषणम्

• भर्तृदुःखपरीतया: afflicted by her husband’s grief
• भर्तृदुःखपरीतया: Karana (Cause/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भर्तृ-दुःख-परिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचनम्; ‘encompassed by husband’s sorrow’ (उषा इति विशेषणम्)

Speaker

Unknown (narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Varuṇeśvara vicinity / forthcoming liṅga’s site (etiology beginning)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Uṣā, wife of Varuṇa, emaciated yet radiant, performs fierce austerities—standing in prayer, matted hair, minimal adornment—near a sacred spot in Prabhāsa; the mood is sorrowful but resolute, hinting at an impending boon or shrine origin.

Characters & Entities

• Varuṇa
• Uṣā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas born of devotion and suffering is portrayed as transformative, becoming the cause for sacred manifestations in a kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative prepares the māhātmya of Uṣeśvara in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, linked to Uṣā’s austerities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual injunction; it describes Uṣā’s mahāghora tapas as the foundational act.