Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

इति संक्षेपतः प्रोक्तं माहात्म्यं पापनाशनम् । कपालिरुद्रदेवस्य तृतीयस्य वरानने

Transliteration

iti saṃkṣepataḥ proktaṃ māhātmyaṃ pāpanāśanam | kapālirudradevasya tṛtīyasya varānane

Translation

So ist in Kürze die sündenvernichtende Größe des Kapālirudra-deva, des dritten (unter ihnen), verkündet worden, o Schönantlitzige.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• संक्षेपतः: briefly, in summary
• संक्षेपतः: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: संक्षेप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb)

• प्रोक्तम्: said, declared
• प्रोक्तम्: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+वच् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्

• माहात्म्यम्: the greatness, sacred glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनम् (Nominative singular)

• पापनाशनम्: destroyer of sins
• पापनाशनम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-भावः: पापस्य नाशनम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• कपालिरुद्रदेवस्य: of Kapāli-Rudradeva
• कपालिरुद्रदेवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपाली + रुद्र + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनम् (Genitive singular)

• तृतीयस्य: of the third
• तृतीयस्य: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनम् (Genitive singular)

• वरानने: O fair-faced one
• वरानने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरानना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (वरम् आननं यस्याः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनम् (Vocative singular)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual attribution; addressing Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālīrudra-deva / Kapālīśvara (third in the sequence referenced)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Varānane (‘fair-faced one’) addressed directly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator-sage concludes the account before an attentive ‘fair-faced’ listener; in the background, a stylized Prabhāsa shrine silhouette and the liṅga symbol, indicating the end of a sacred episode.

Characters & Entities

• Kapālirudra-deva
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Remembering and honoring the Lord’s māhātmya is itself framed as a purifier and guide for dharmic pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, specifically the Kapālirudra/Kapālīśvara manifestation within the Ekādaśa-rudra cycle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription; it functions as a concluding summary of the māhātmya.