Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

ॐ नमः पंचवक्त्राय दशबाहुत्रिनेत्रिणे । श्वेतं वृषभमारूढ श्वेताभरणभूषित

Transliteration

oṃ namaḥ paṃcavaktrāya daśabāhutrinetriṇe | śvetaṃ vṛṣabhamārūḍha śvetābharaṇabhūṣita

Translation

Om—homage to the Five-Faced One, to Him of ten arms and three eyes; O Rider upon the white bull, O You adorned with white ornaments.

Word by Word

• oṃ: Oṃ
• oṃ: Mantra particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: oṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रणव (sacred syllable)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रायम्; नमस्कारार्थक-निपातः; उपपदयोगे दत्तिः (to + dative)

• paṃca-vaktrāya: to the five-faced (one)
• paṃca-vaktrāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (प्रातिपदिक) + vaktra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-विभक्तिः (सम्प्रदान), एकवचनम्; समासः—द्विगु (पञ्च वक्राणि यस्य)

• daśa-bāhu-tri-netriṇe: to the ten-armed, three-eyed (one)
• daśa-bāhu-tri-netriṇe: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक) + tri (प्रातिपदिक) + netrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-विभक्तिः (सम्प्रदान), एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (दशबाहुः च त्रिनेत्री च) (समाहार-विशेषणरूपेण)

• śvetam: white
• śvetam: Sambodhana/Descriptor
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बोधन-स्तुत्यर्थे विशेषणम् (elliptic)

• vṛṣabham: bull
• vṛṣabham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ārūḍha: mounted (upon)
• ārūḍha: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-rūḍha (कृदन्त; √ruh (धातु) with prefix ā)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (कर्ता/विशेष्य), एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (mounted)

• śveta-ābharaṇa-bhūṣita: adorned with white ornaments
• śveta-ābharaṇa-bhūṣita: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक) + ābharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣita (कृदन्त; √bhūṣ (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘भूषित’

Speaker

Sūta (introducing the worship-mantra; deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Someśvara/Somnatha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous Śiva appears in meditation-vision: five faces radiating, three eyes, ten arms holding symbolic implements (left unspecified), seated upon a white bull; white ornaments gleam against a sacred coastal shrine backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vṛṣabha (Nandin/bull mount)
• Somnātha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is praised as the multi-form cosmic Lord; mantra remembrance aligns the worshipper with that divine reality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somnātha at Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where this mantra is employed in the prescribed worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recitation of a specific Śiva-mantra praising pañcavaktra, trinetrī, and vṛṣabhavāhana as part of the rite.