Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

उद्दधार महीं कृत्स्नां सशैलवनकाननाम् । स कथं त्यक्तवान्गात्रं प्रभासे पापनाशने

Transliteration

uddadhāra mahīṃ kṛtsnāṃ saśailavanakānanām | sa kathaṃ tyaktavāngātraṃ prabhāse pāpanāśane

Translation

He who lifted up the entire earth—with its mountains, forests, and groves—how could he abandon his body at Prabhāsa, the destroyer of sins?

Word by Word

• उद्दधार: lifted up
• उद्दधार: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + धृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• महीम्: the earth
• महीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कृत्स्नाम्: entire
• कृत्स्नाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत्स्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (महीम् इति)

• स-शैल-वन-काननाम्: together with mountains, forests, and groves
• स-शैल-वन-काननाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (सह) + शैल + वन + कानन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः/समाहारः: ‘शैलवनकाननैः सह’ इति; विशेषणम् (महीम्)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-क्रियाविशेषण

• त्यक्तवान्: having abandoned
• त्यक्तवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (perfect participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गात्रम्: body
• गात्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पापनाशने: in the sin-destroying (place)
• पापनाशने: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप-नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पापानां नाशनम्)

Speaker

Unspecified (same inquiry voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A powerful recollection: Varāha lifting the earth with mountains and forests, contrasted with the quiet solemnity of Prabhāsa where the Lord is said to have left his body. The kṣetra glows as ‘pāpānāśana’.

Characters & Entities

• Varāha (implied)
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prabhāsa is extolled as pāpanāśana; the narrative paradox underscores the tīrtha’s greatness and the Lord’s inscrutable līlā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, explicitly called ‘pāpanāśana’ (destroyer of sins).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is praise and inquiry, not a ritual rule.