Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखंडे तृतीयेऽर्बुदखण्डे गुहेश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम षट्पञ्चाशत्तमोऽध्यायः

Transliteration

iti śrīskāṃde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ saptame prabhāsakhaṃḍe tṛtīye'rbudakhaṇḍe guheśvaramāhātmyavarṇanaṃnāma ṣaṭpañcāśattamo'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus ends the fifty-sixth chapter, entitled “The Description of the Greatness of Guheśvara,” in the third division (Arbuda Khaṇḍa) of the seventh book (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa) of the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, the compendium of eighty-one thousand verses.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक-निपात

• śrīskāṃde: in the Śrī Skanda (Purāṇa)
• śrīskāṃde: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī-skānda (प्रातिपदिक; श्री + स्कान्द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• mahāpurāṇe: in the great Purāṇa
• mahāpurāṇe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ekāśītisāhasryām: in the eighty-one-thousand (collection)
• ekāśītisāhasryām: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekāśīti-sāhasrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• saṃhitāyām: in the saṃhitā
• saṃhitāyām: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃhitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• saptame: in the seventh
• saptame: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• prabhāsakhaṇḍe: in the Prabhāsa section
• prabhāsakhaṇḍe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa-khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• tṛtīye: in the third
• tṛtīye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• arbudakhaṇḍe: in the Arbuda section
• arbudakhaṇḍe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arbuda-khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• guheśvaramāhātmyavarṇanam: the description of the greatness of Guheśvara
• guheśvaramāhātmyavarṇanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guheśvara-māhātmya-varṇana (प्रातिपदिक; गुहेश्वर + माहात्म्य + वर्णन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; अध्यायनामरूपेण

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (Appositive marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; “named/called” इत्यर्थक-निपात

• ṣaṭpañcāśattamaḥ: fifty-sixth
• ṣaṭpañcāśattamaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṭ-pañcāśat-tama (प्रातिपदिक; षट् + पञ्चाशत् + तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्रमवाचक-विशेषणम्—“fifty-sixth”

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator/Colophon (textual closure formula)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Guheśvara (māhātmya concluded)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A manuscript folio ending: scribal colophon lines, chapter title highlighted; a pilgrim-scholar closes the palm-leaf manuscript near a shrine lamp.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda Purāṇa
• Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa
• Arbuda Khaṇḍa
• Guheśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

As a colophon, it authenticates and preserves the tradition, marking Guheśvara’s māhātmya as a distinct unit of sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Guheśvara, named as the subject of the chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse is a formal chapter conclusion.