Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

बाल एव तु यत्रार्कस्तपस्तेपे पुरा प्रिये । तेन बालार्क इत्येतन्नाम ख्यातं धरातले

Transliteration

bāla eva tu yatrārkastapastepe purā priye | tena bālārka ityetannāma khyātaṃ dharātale

Translation

Oh amada, en el lugar donde antaño el Sol, siendo aún un niño, practicó austeridades sagradas, por ello se hizo célebre en la tierra con el nombre de “Bālārka” (Sol-Niño).

Word by Word

• बालः: a child; (being) a child
• बालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• एव: indeed; only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रकारः: निपात (emphatic particle)

• तु: but; and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रकारः: निपात (contrastive particle)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, सम्बन्ध-प्रश्न/सम्बन्ध-निपात (relative adverb)

• अर्कः: the Sun
• अर्कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• तपः: austerity; penance
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• तेपे: performed (austerity)
• तेपे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद-रूप (तेपे)

• पुरा: formerly; long ago
• पुरा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• प्रिये: O beloved
• प्रिये: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन (प्रिय-शब्दः स्त्रीलिङ्गे ‘प्रिया’; सम्बोधन ‘प्रिये’)

• तेन: therefore; by that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• बालार्कः: (it is called) Bālārka
• बालार्कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; समासः: बालार्क (कर्मधारय)

• इति: thus; as
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उद्धरण/इत्यादि-निपात (quotative particle)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (नाम)

• नाम: name
• नाम: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• ख्यातम्: is renowned; is known
• ख्यातम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ख्या (धातु) + त (कृत्)
• Form: कृत्प्रत्यय-रूप (क्त/त), भूतकर्मणि/भूतकाले कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; (नाम) इति सह

• धरातले: on the earth; on the ground
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; समासः: धरायाः तलम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bālārka

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mythic tableau: a youthful Sun (child form) seated in meditation, radiating gentle yet potent light over a small tīrtha pool; sages and nature respond—lotuses open, birds circle—signifying tapas transforming the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya (Arka)
• Devī
• Bālārka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas (austerity) is honored as a source of sanctity; even the gods model discipline to bless a place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bālārka, the Sun’s tīrtha named from the legend of the child-Sun’s austerities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse explains the origin of the tīrtha’s name through the Sun’s tapas.