Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

भस्मशायी भस्मदिग्धो नृत्त गीतैरतोषयत् । जपेन वृषनादैश्च तपसा भावितः शुचिः

Transliteration

bhasmaśāyī bhasmadigdho nṛtta gītairatoṣayat | japena vṛṣanādaiśca tapasā bhāvitaḥ śuciḥ

Translation

Lying upon sacred ash and smeared with ash, he delighted the Lord through dance and song. Purified and refined by japa, by the chanting of Vedic sounds, and by austerity, he became inwardly pure.

Word by Word

• भस्मशायी: lying on ashes
• भस्मशायी: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भस्म (प्रातिपदिक) + शायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (singular) (कर्तरि विशेषण)

• भस्मदिग्धः: smeared with ash
• भस्मदिग्धः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भस्म (प्रातिपदिक) + दिग्ध (कृदन्त-क्त, ‘smeared’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (singular)

• नृत्त: by dances
• नृत्त: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया (3rd case/instrumental), बहुवचन (plural) (गितैः सह समाहारः)

• गीतैः: by songs
• गीतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया (3rd case/instrumental), बहुवचन (plural)

• अतोषयत्: pleased/satisfied (him)
• अतोषयत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तुष् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); causative sense ‘made pleased’ (तोषयति)

• जपेन: by recitation
• जपेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (3rd case/instrumental), एकवचन (singular)

• वृषनादैः: by bull-roars (loud cries)
• वृषनादैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष (प्रातिपदिक) + नाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (3rd case/instrumental), बहुवचन (plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया (3rd case/instrumental), एकवचन (singular)

• भावितः: purified/imbued
• भावितः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु) (णिच्—भावयति)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘purified/imbued/strengthened’

• शुचिः: pure
• शुचिः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and assembled ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An ash-smeared ascetic-devotee lies on a bed of sacred ash, then rises to dance and sing before the liṅga; the air vibrates with Vedic intonations and japa as tapas radiates from him.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied)
• Bhasma (sacred ash)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion becomes transformative when supported by disciplined practice—ash-symbolism (vairāgya), japa, and tapas purify the devotee and please Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha), praised in the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya as a powerful, sanctifying sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śaiva observances: applying/sitting on bhasma, performing japa, chanting solemn sacred sounds, and undertaking tapas (austerity).