Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । तथोक्तो माधवेनासौ चकार हरिमंदिरम् । प्रतिमां पूजयामास गन्धपुष्पानुलेपनैः

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tathokto mādhavenāsau cakāra harimaṃdiram | pratimāṃ pūjayāmāsa gandhapuṣpānulepanaiḥ

Translation

Pulastya dit : Ainsi instruit par Mādhava, il fit bâtir un temple pour Hari et vénéra l’effigie sacrée avec des parfums, des fleurs et des onguents.

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ऋषिनाम

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: वच् (भाषणे)

• tathā-uktaḥ: thus instructed
• tathā-uktaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tathā (अव्यय) + ukta (कृदन्त; √vac)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); अव्ययीभावः: ‘तथा’ + ‘उक्तः’ = ‘so instructed/thus told’

• mādhavena: by Mādhava (Vishnu)
• mādhavena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• asau: he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asau (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; संकेतवाचक-सर्वनाम

• cakāra: made/built
• cakāra: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: कृ (करणे)

• hari-mandiram: a temple of Hari
• hari-mandiram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + mandira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘हरेः मन्दिरम्’

• pratimām: the image
• pratimām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratimā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• pūjayāmāsa: worshipped
• pūjayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect) परोक्षभूत, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: पूज्; ‘आमास’ इति परिप्रयोगः (intensive/periphrastic perfect sense: ‘did worship’)

• gandha-puṣpa-anulepanaiḥ: with perfumes, flowers, and unguents
• gandha-puṣpa-anulepanaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + anulepana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः: ‘गन्धैः पुष्पैः अनुलेपनैश्च’

Speaker

Pulastya (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hari-mandira (Arbuda)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (implied) the inquiring audience within Skanda Purāṇa’s frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ambārīṣa oversees the building of a Hari temple; then performs worship of the icon with perfumes, flowers, and unguents—priests, artisans, and devotees present; lamps and incense fill the air.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Mādhava (Viṣṇu)
• Hari
• Ambārīṣa (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion becomes embodied in place: building a temple and offering upacāras turns faith into a living sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Hari temple established in the Arbuda-khaṇḍa setting (Mount Arbuda region), forming a locus of worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā with gandha (fragrance), puṣpa (flowers), and anulepana (unctuous anointing), standard devotional upacāras.