Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

प्रह्लाद उवाच । अहो क्षेत्रस्य माहात्म्यं समंताद्दशयोजनम् । दिविष्ठा यत्र पश्यंति सर्वानेव चतुर्भुजान्

Transliteration

prahlāda uvāca | aho kṣetrasya māhātmyaṃ samaṃtāddaśayojanam | diviṣṭhā yatra paśyaṃti sarvāneva caturbhujān

Translation

Prahlāda dit : Ah ! merveilleuse est la grandeur de ce kṣetra, s’étendant sur dix yojanas de tous côtés, où les habitants du ciel voient tous les êtres pourvus de quatre bras, en forme divine.

Word by Word

• prahlādaḥ: Prahlāda
• prahlādaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prahlāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• aho: ah!, oh!
• aho: Bhāva-prakāśaka (Exclamation/भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विस्मयादिबोधक/interjection)

• kṣetrasya: of the sacred place
• kṣetrasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• māhātmyam: greatness, glory
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• samantāt: on all sides
• samantāt: Deśa-kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Spatial adverbial/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपसर्गार्थक/दिक्कालवाचक; ‘on all sides’)

• daśa-yojanam: ten-yojana (in extent)
• daśa-yojanam: Pramāṇa-viśeṣaṇa (Measure qualifier/प्रमाण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa + yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—द्विगु (दश योजने प्रमाणम्)

• diviṣṭhāḥ: those dwelling in heaven (gods)
• diviṣṭhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diviṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘दिवि स्थिताः’ (heaven-dwellers)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Relative locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/स्थानवाचक relative adverb)

• paśyanti: see
• paśyanti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• sarvān: all
• sarvān: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण/emphatic particle)

• catur-bhujān: four-armed ones
• catur-bhujān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur + bhuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहि (चत्वारो भुजाः यस्य)

Speaker

Prahlāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā-kṣetra (daśa-yojana-paryanta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Prahlāda exclaims about the kṣetra’s greatness: a luminous sacred circle around Dvārakā, where celestial observers see inhabitants with four arms like divine forms.

Characters & Entities

• Prahlāda
• Dvārakā-kṣetra (implied)
• Diviṣṭha (celestial beings)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A true tīrtha transforms perception and being—Dvārakā’s sanctity is so intense that even ordinary residents are seen as divinely formed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā-kṣetra (Dvāravatī), described as a sacred zone spreading ten yojanas in all directions.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse functions as a stuti (praise) highlighting the kṣetra’s sanctifying power.