Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

बुधेश्वरात्पश्चिमतो धनुषां सप्तके स्थितम् । छिन्नं मया पुरा देवि ब्रह्मणः पंचमं शिरः

Transliteration

budheśvarātpaścimato dhanuṣāṃ saptake sthitam | chinnaṃ mayā purā devi brahmaṇaḥ paṃcamaṃ śiraḥ

Translation

„Es liegt westlich von Budheśvara, in einer Entfernung von sieben Dhanuṣ. Dort habe ich einst, o Göttin, Brahmās fünftes Haupt abgeschlagen.“

Word by Word

• budheśvarāt: from Budheśvara
• budheśvarāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: budha-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक; बुध + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (source/ablative)

• paścimataḥ: to the west of
• paścimataḥ: Adhikarana (Spatial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścimataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (directional adverb)

• dhanuṣām: of bows (as a measure)
• dhanuṣām: Sambandha (Measure relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; परिमाण/मात्रा-सम्बन्धे (measure)

• saptake: in a set of seven
• saptake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptaka (प्रातिपदिक; numeral derivative)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरणे (in a group/measure of seven)

• sthitam: situated; standing
• sthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of implied liṅgam/स्थानम्)

• chinnam: cut off
• chinnam: Karma (Object/result/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chid (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावे

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/Agentive instr./करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-निर्देश (agent-instrumental)

• purā: formerly; once
• purā: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; संबोधनम्

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• paṃcamam: the fifth
• paṃcamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃcama (प्रातिपदिक; ordinal)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying śiraḥ)

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of chinnam)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālīśa/Kapālī-sthāna (implied by subsequent verses) near Budheśvara within Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred coastal kṣetra-map vignette: Budheśvara as a landmark shrine; to its west, Śiva in fierce serenity, holding a severed skull, the moment of Brahmā’s fifth head being cut—rendered as a remembered event embedded in the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Budheśvara
• Kapālīśvara
• Brahmā
• Śiva
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places preserve cosmic events; mythic memory anchors dharma in geography, turning landscape into a living scripture.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapālīśvara in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, located west of Budheśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse gives location and a mythic event (Śiva severing Brahmā’s fifth head).