Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

प्रादुर्भूता ततस्तस्य वारिधाराऽग्रतः शुभा । बिभेद्य धरणीपृष्ठं स्नानार्थं चासुरद्विषः

Transliteration

prādurbhūtā tatastasya vāridhārā'grataḥ śubhā | bibhedya dharaṇīpṛṣṭhaṃ snānārthaṃ cāsuradviṣaḥ

Translation

Da erschien vor ihm ein glückverheißender Wasserstrom, der die Erdoberfläche aufspaltete—damit der Feind der Asuras einen Ort zum heiligen Bad bereite.

Word by Word

• prādurbhūtā: appeared, manifested
• prādurbhūtā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prādur-bhū (धातु) → prādurbhūta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP used predicatively), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; agrees with vāridhārā

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/हेतुवाचक (then/from that)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• vāri-dhārā: a stream of water
• vāri-dhārā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāri + dhārā (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: वारिणः धारा), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• agrataḥ: in front
• agrataḥ: Deśa-adhikarana (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: agrataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (‘in front’)

• śubhā: auspicious, beautiful
• śubhā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण of vāri-dhārā

• bibhedya: having split
• bibhedya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhid (धातु) → bibhedya (ल्यप्/gerund)
• Form: कृदन्त; ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund) from causative/strengthened base, ‘having split/cleft’

• dharaṇī-pṛṣṭham: the surface/back of the earth
• dharaṇī-pṛṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म) (of bibhedya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: धरण्याः पृष्ठम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• snāna-artham: for bathing
• snāna-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna + artha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुष/प्रयोजन: स्नानस्य अर्थः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थक

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• asura-dviṣaḥ: of the foe of the demons (Viṣṇu)
• asura-dviṣaḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asura + dviṣ (प्रातिपदिक: dviṣ ‘hater’)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (उपपद-तत्पुरुष: असुरान् द्वेष्टि), पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘of the enemy of asuras’

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic discourse; likely Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Saṃnihitī-tīrtha / Saṃnihita-saras

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (addressed in adjacent verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bright, auspicious water-stream suddenly appears before Viṣṇu and cleaves the earth’s surface, forming a bathing place; the moment is both gentle (śubha) and forceful (bibhēdya).

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (āsura-dviṣ)
• Sāṃnihita water-stream (tīrtha source)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine makes purification attainable—holy waters arise for the spiritual welfare of devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Saṃnihitī/Sāṃnihita tīrtha at Prabhāsakṣetra, described through its miraculous emergence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (sacred bathing) is explicitly indicated as the purpose of the manifested water.