Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । सकारपंचकं प्रोक्तं यत्त्वया मम शंकर । कथं तदत्र संवृत्तमेतन्मे संशयं महत्

Transliteration

devyuvāca | sakārapaṃcakaṃ proktaṃ yattvayā mama śaṃkara | kathaṃ tadatra saṃvṛttametanme saṃśayaṃ mahat

Translation

The Goddess said: “O Śaṅkara, you have spoken to me of the sakāra-pañcaka, the five that begin with ‘sa’. How did that become established here? A great doubt has arisen in my mind.”

Word by Word

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Speaker/subject of ‘said’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Speech verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sakārapaṃcakam: the set of five ‘sa’-letters
• sakārapaṃcakam: Karma (Object of proktam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa-kāra + pañcaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—सकाराणां पञ्चकं (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• proktam: was declared/taught
• proktam: Kriya (Predicate; passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (it was spoken)

• yat: which
• yat: Anvaya-link (Relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (यद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Kartr-karana in passive (Agent in passive construction)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• mama: to me/of me
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aham (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śaṃkara: O Śaṅkara
• śaṃkara: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Question marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• tat: that
• tat: Anaphoric (refers to sakārapaṃcakam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• saṃvṛttam: has occurred/come about
• saṃvṛttam: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + vṛt (धातु) → saṃvṛtta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘has happened/occurred’ (as predicate)

• etat: this
• etat: Vishaya (Topic of doubt)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (एतद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• me: my/to me
• me: Sambandha (to me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aham (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• saṃśayam: doubt
• saṃśayam: Karma (Object; ‘(I have) doubt’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mahat: great
• mahat: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying saṃśayam)

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara/Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī, seated beside Śaṅkara in a serene tīrtha landscape, raises a respectful doubt about the ‘sakāra-pañcaka’ and its establishment in Prabhāsa; the mood is inquisitive and sacred.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śaṅkara
• sakāra-pañcaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is paired with sacred doctrine: the text invites inquiry into how spiritual principles become grounded in a specific kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing narrative frame is Prabhāsa Kṣetra; this verse opens a doctrinal question within that kṣetra’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces a question about the sakāra-pañcaka and its establishment.