Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

गोचर्ममानमध्यानि कानिचिद्धनुषांतरम् । यज्ञोपवीतमात्राणि प्रभासे संति कोटिशः

Transliteration

gocarmamānamadhyāni kāniciddhanuṣāṃtaram | yajñopavītamātrāṇi prabhāse saṃti koṭiśaḥ

Translation

Certains tīrthas ont une étendue moyenne mesurée selon la « mesure d’une peau de vache »; d’autres s’étendent sur la portée d’un tir d’arc. Et à Prabhāsa se trouvent des crores de lieux saints, même aussi petits que la mesure du cordon sacré (yajñopavīta).

Word by Word

• गो-चर्म-मान-मध्यानि: having a middle/extent measured by a cowhide
• गो-चर्म-मान-मध्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + carma (प्रातिपदिक) + māna (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (implicit: उपक्षेत्राणि)

• कानि: some
• कानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• चित्: (enclitic)
• चित्: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• धनुषाम्: of bows
• धनुषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• अन्तरम्: an interval/measure
• अन्तरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; मापनार्थे (as measure/interval)

• यज्ञ-उपवीत-मात्राणि: of the measure of a sacred thread
• यज्ञ-उपवीत-मात्राणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + upavīta (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (यज्ञोपवीतस्य मात्रा); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• सन्ति: are/exist
• सन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• कोटिशः: in crores
• कोटिशः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; शस्-प्रत्ययान्त (distributive adverb: 'by crores/in crores')

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya dialogue address to Devī in nearby verses)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (koṭi-tīrtha density motif)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast coastal sacred field shimmering with countless tiny luminous points—some as large as a cowhide, some a bowshot, many as fine as a yajñopavīta—like stars fallen onto earth.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• yajñopavīta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prabhāsa is portrayed as densely saturated with sanctity—holiness exists from vast tracts down to minute points.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra as a whole, described as containing innumerable tīrthas of varying size.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse magnifies Prabhāsa by enumerating the abundance and variety of sacred loci.