Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

गगनासक्तशिखरे संस्थितः कौतुकान्वितः । एकाकी शिखरे तस्मिन्नूर्द्ध्वबाहुर्व्यवस्थितः

Transliteration

gaganāsaktaśikhare saṃsthitaḥ kautukānvitaḥ | ekākī śikhare tasminnūrddhvabāhurvyavasthitaḥ

Translation

Auf jenem himmelberührenden Gipfel stehend, von Staunen erfüllt, blieb er allein auf dieser Höhe — fest dort verharrend, die Arme emporgehoben.

Word by Word

• gagana-āsakta-śikhare: on the peak clinging to the sky
• gagana-āsakta-śikhare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gagana (प्रातिपदिक) + āsakta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + śikhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष समास (गगने आसक्तं शिखरं यस्मिन्/गगनासक्तं शिखरम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन

• saṃsthitaḥ: standing, stationed
• saṃsthitaḥ: Karta (Predicate participle/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; ‘स्थितः/standing, stationed’

• kautuka-anvitaḥ: endowed with curiosity/interest
• kautuka-anvitaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kautuka (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास (कौतुकं अन्वितः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (saṃsthitaḥ/implicit subject)

• ekākī: alone
• ekākī: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekākin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (implicit subject)

• śikhare: on the peak
• śikhare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śikhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन

• tasmin: on that
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Deictic location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन

• ūrddhva-bāhuḥ: with arms raised upward
• ūrddhva-bāhuḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrddhva (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि समास (ऊर्ध्वौ बाहू यस्य सः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (implicit subject)

• vyavasthitaḥ: stood firmly
• vyavasthitaḥ: Karta (Predicate participle/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ava-sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; ‘स्थितः/steadily positioned’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-śikhara (summit)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone brāhmaṇa stands on a narrow rocky summit, arms raised, robes fluttering, eyes fixed upward; vast sky dominates, suggesting threshold to the divine.

Characters & Entities

• Dvija (brāhmaṇa)
• the sky-touching peak of Vastrāpathakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Awe and disciplined posture at a holy place can become a form of tapas and concentrated devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘gagana-āsakta’ summit of Vastrāpathakṣetra in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implied austerity: standing alone on the summit with uplifted arms (ūrdhva-bāhu-vrata-like posture).