Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

नक्षत्रत्रितयं पादमाश्रितं पूर्वदक्षिणम् । फाल्गुनी चोत्तरा हस्तं चित्रा चर्क्षत्रयं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

nakṣatratritayaṃ pādamāśritaṃ pūrvadakṣiṇam | phālgunī cottarā hastaṃ citrā carkṣatrayaṃ smṛtam

Translation

A triad of nakṣatras rests upon the foot in the south-east. There, Phālgunī (Uttara-Phālgunī), Hasta, and Citrā are remembered as a set of three.

Word by Word

• nakṣatra-tritayam: a triad of constellations
• nakṣatra-tritayam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nakṣatra (प्रातिपदिक) + tritaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नक्षत्राणां त्रितयम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• pādam: the foot
• pādam: Karma (कर्म/Object with āśritam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘foot’ (region)

• āśritam: occupying/resorting to
• āśritam: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√śri (श्रि धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: आश्रित)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having resorted to/occupying’

• pūrva-dakṣiṇam: eastern and southern (part)
• pūrva-dakṣiṇam: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier of pādam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पूर्वं च दक्षिणं च इति द्वन्द्व (directional)

• phālgunī: Phālgunī
• phālgunī: Karta (कर्ता/List item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phālgunī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम (उत्तरफाल्गुनी)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• uttarā: Uttarā
• uttarā: Karta (कर्ता/List item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम (उत्तरफाल्गुनी/उत्तराषाढा इत्यादि; अत्र ‘उत्तरफाल्गुनी’ पृथक् नामरूपेण)

• hastam: Hasta
• hastam: Karma (कर्म/Object; list grouping)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम (Hasta)

• citrā: Citrā
• citrā: Karta (कर्ता/List item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• ṛkṣa-trayam: a triad of stars/constellations
• ṛkṣa-trayam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ऋक्षाणां त्रयम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• smṛtam: is stated/considered
• smṛtam: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: स्मृत)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे—‘is said/remembered’

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A diagram shows the tortoise’s south-eastern foot highlighted; three star emblems labeled Uttara-Phālgunī, Hasta, Citrā sit like anklets; the teacher traces the sector with a staff on a sand-drawing.

Characters & Entities

• Uttara-Phālgunī
• Hasta
• Citrā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Direction, land, and stars are linked—suggesting a sacred cartography where space itself becomes a field of contemplation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named; the verse is part of a broader cosmological exposition within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.