Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 146

Devanagari script

ध्रुवाधाराण्यशेषाणि धिष्ण्यानि वरवर्णिनि । भ्राम्यद्रश्मिनिबद्धानि अधो जग्मुः सहस्रशः

Transliteration

dhruvādhārāṇyaśeṣāṇi dhiṣṇyāni varavarṇini | bhrāmyadraśminibaddhāni adho jagmuḥ sahasraśaḥ

Translation

Oh dama de bello semblante, todas las moradas celestes, apoyadas en el Polo como sostén, atadas por rayos que giraban, cayeron hacia abajo por millares.

Word by Word

• ध्रुवाधाराणि: having the Pole (Dhruva) as support
• ध्रुवाधाराणि: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक) + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (ध्रुवस्य आधारः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (धिष्ण्यानि)

• अशेषाणि: all, without remainder
• अशेषाणि: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• धिष्ण्यानि: abodes/places (celestial stations)
• धिष्ण्यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धिष्ण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• वरवर्णिनि: O fair-complexioned lady
• वरवर्णिनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरवर्णिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः (वरा च सा वर्णिनी), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• भ्राम्यद्रश्मिनिबद्धानि: bound by moving rays
• भ्राम्यद्रश्मिनिबद्धानि: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्राम्यत् (भ्रम् धातु, शतृ) + रश्मि (प्रातिपदिक) + निबद्ध (नि+बन्ध् धातु, क्त)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘भ्राम्यद्-रश्मि’ (भ्राम्यन्ती रश्मिः) इत्युपपदसमास + ‘निबद्ध’ (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (धिष्ण्यानि)

• अधो: downwards
• अधो: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, दिशावाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• जग्मुः: went
• जग्मुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• सहस्रशः: by the thousand, in thousands
• सहस्रशः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, परिमाण/प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण; ‘by thousands’

Speaker

Narrator addressing Devī (varavarṇinī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa Kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A Devī addressed as varavarṇinī (fair-complexioned lady)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The fixed Pole as cosmic support; innumerable celestial stations (dhruvādhārāṇi dhiṣṇyāni) appear tethered by spinning rays and then plunge downward in thousands, suggesting a catastrophic loosening of the heavens.

Characters & Entities

• Dhruva
• Dhiṣṇya (celestial stations)
• Rays of Sūrya (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic order rests on stable supports; when foundational forces are disturbed, even the ‘fixed’ heavens appear to fall—hence the necessity of dharmic regulation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The māhātmya framework is Prabhāsa-kṣetra; cosmic descriptions amplify the sacred authority and wonder associated with the Prabhāsa tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual prescription is mentioned in this verse.