Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

वाराणस्यां कुरुक्षेत्रे नर्मदायां तु यत्फलम् । तत्फलं निमिषार्द्धेन भवं दृष्ट्वा दिनेदिने

Transliteration

vārāṇasyāṃ kurukṣetre narmadāyāṃ tu yatphalam | tatphalaṃ nimiṣārddhena bhavaṃ dṛṣṭvā dinedine

Translation

Welches Verdienst man auch in Vārāṇasī, in Kurukṣetra und an der Narmadā erlangt—dasselbe Verdienst gewinnt man hier in einem halben Augenblick, indem man Bhava Tag für Tag schaut.

Word by Word

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: in Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः—कुरूणां क्षेत्रम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• नर्मदायाम्: in (the river) Narmadā
• नर्मदायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थे ‘but/indeed’

• यत्: whatever/that which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• फलम्: fruit, merit
• फलम्: Karma/Prameya (Result as predicate/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• फलम्: fruit, merit
• फलम्: Karma/Prameya (Predicate/result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• निमिषार्द्धेन: in half a moment
• निमिषार्द्धेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निमिष + अर्द्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; समासः—निमिषस्य अर्द्धम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• भवम्: Bhava (Śiva)
• भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; ‘having seen’

• दिनेदिने: day after day
• दिनेदिने: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिन + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; ‘दिने दिने’ इति पुनरुक्त-प्रयोगः (adverbial: day by day)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhava-darśana at Vastrāpatha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A central Bhava shrine at Vastrāpatha with a devotee beholding; around it, three vignette halos: Kāśī ghāṭas, Kurukṣetra field with sacred tanks, and Narmadā riverbank—showing their merits converging into the single darśana moment.

Characters & Entities

• Bhava (Śiva)
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Kurukṣetra
• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A highly sanctified kṣetra can concentrate the fruits of many famed pilgrimages into a simple act of devoted darśana.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vastrāpatha-kṣetra, by asserting its Bhava-darśana equals the fruits of Kāśī, Kurukṣetra, and Narmadā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular darśana—‘dine dine’—of Bhava (Śiva).