Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

क्षिप्तंक्षिप्तं पुनस्तत्र जायते च महीतले । एवं शतसहस्राणि प्रयुतान्यर्बुदानि च

Transliteration

kṣiptaṃkṣiptaṃ punastatra jāyate ca mahītale | evaṃ śatasahasrāṇi prayutānyarbudāni ca

Translation

Jetée et rejetée, elle renaissait là, sur la terre. Ainsi en fut-il des centaines de milliers de fois—des dizaines de milliers, et même des crores de fois.

Word by Word

• क्षिप्तम्: thrown, cast
• क्षिप्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣipta (कृदन्त; √kṣip क्षिप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — neuter nominative/accusative singular; past passive participle

• क्षिप्तम्: (again) thrown
• क्षिप्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣipta (कृदन्त; √kṣip क्षिप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — neuter nominative/accusative singular; past passive participle (repetition for emphasis)

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण — indeclinable adverb

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक — indeclinable locative adverb

• जायते: is born/arises
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन्)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — present indicative, 3rd person singular, middle; intransitive ‘is born/arises’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक — conjunction

• महीतले: on the earth’s surface
• महीतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī-tala (प्रातिपदिक; मही + तल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — neuter locative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘earth-surface’

• एवम्: thus, in this way
• एवम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक — indeclinable adverb of manner

• शतसहस्राणि: hundred-thousands (i.e., hundreds of thousands)
• शतसहस्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata-sahasra (प्रातिपदिक; शत + सहस्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन — neuter nominative/accusative plural; द्विगु-समास (numeral compound) ‘hundred-thousands’

• प्रयुतानि: ten-thousands (myriads)
• प्रयुतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन — neuter nominative/accusative plural; संख्या-शब्द (ten-thousand)

• अर्बुदानि: arbuda-units (a vast number)
• अर्बुदानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arbuda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन — neuter nominative/accusative plural; संख्या-शब्द (a very large number)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक — conjunction

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Varānanā / Surēśvarī (Devī/Umā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal tableau: as attendants repeatedly hurl the skull away, identical skulls keep appearing on the earth—piling or re-manifesting—while the sages look on, overwhelmed by the scale of repetition.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied)
• kapāla (skull-bowl)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a tīrtha made potent by the Lord, the ordinary laws of cause and effect yield to divine will.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, portrayed as a place where divine signs recur inexhaustibly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse intensifies the mahātmya by narrating repeated miraculous recurrence.