Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

युगानुरूपं यः कृत्वा रूपं लोकहिताय वै । धर्ममुद्धरते देवः स कथं क्षेत्रमाश्रितः

Transliteration

yugānurūpaṃ yaḥ kṛtvā rūpaṃ lokahitāya vai | dharmamuddharate devaḥ sa kathaṃ kṣetramāśritaḥ

Translation

Er, der zum Heil der Welten in jedem Yuga eine entsprechende Gestalt annimmt und das Dharma emporhebt: wie könnte eben dieser Gott auf einen einzigen heiligen Ort beschränkt oder von ihm abhängig sein?

Word by Word

• yuga-anurūpam: appropriate to the age
• yuga-anurūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक) + anurūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (‘according to the age’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying rūpam)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• kṛtvā: having made/assumed
• kṛtvā: Purvakala (Absolutive/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु; करणे)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) — ‘having made/assumed’

• rūpam: a form
• rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• loka-hitāya: for the world’s welfare
• loka-hitāya: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + hita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त; √dhā हिते/√hi)
• Form: चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुषः (‘for the welfare of the world’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; प्रयोजन-सम्प्रदान

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — emphasis/assurance

• dharmam: dharma
• dharmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• uddharate: uplifts/saves
• uddharate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√hṛ (धातु; हरणे)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• kṣetram: the field (holy place)
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• āśritaḥ: has resorted to
• āśritaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√śri (धातु; आश्रये)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तरि ‘having resorted to’

Speaker

A questioner within the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya dialogue (listener addressing the narrator/teacher)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages / interlocutor in Prabhāsa māhātmya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau of the Lord shifting forms across yugas—majestic, serene transformations—while sages point to Prabhāsa as a chosen stage for dharma’s uplift, not a cage. Background shows a mandala-like map of tīrthas radiating outward.

Characters & Entities

• Deva
• Dharma
• Yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is the restorer of Dharma across ages and is not limited by place, even while sanctifying particular tīrthas like Prabhāsa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the implied focus, as the verse questions how such a supreme Lord could be said to ‘reside’ in a particular kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse is theological, framing the greatness of the kṣetra through the Lord’s universal sovereignty.