Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

तकारं विन्यसेन्मूर्ध्नि सकारं मुखमण्डले । विकारं कंठदेशे तु तुकारं चांगसंधिषु

Transliteration

takāraṃ vinyasenmūrdhni sakāraṃ mukhamaṇḍale | vikāraṃ kaṃṭhadeśe tu tukāraṃ cāṃgasaṃdhiṣu

Translation

Qu’on place la syllabe «ta» au sommet du crâne, «sa» dans la région du visage ; «vi» à la gorge ; et «tu» sur les articulations des membres.

Word by Word

• तकारम्: the letter ‘ta’
• तकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: takāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘त्’-वर्णः

• विन्यसेत्: should place
• विन्यसेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√न्यस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मूर्ध्नि: on the head
• मूर्ध्नि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सकारम्: the letter ‘sa’
• सकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘स्’-वर्णः

• मुखमण्डले: on the face-region
• मुखमण्डले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समास: मुखस्य मण्डलम् (face-region)

• विकारम्: the letter ‘vi’
• विकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘वि’-वर्णः

• कण्ठदेशे: in the throat area
• कण्ठदेशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समास: कण्ठस्य देशः (throat area)

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): emphasis/contrast

• तुकारम्: the letter ‘tu’
• तुकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tukāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तु’-वर्णः

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/ conjunction)

• अङ्गसन्धिषु: at the limb-joints
• अङ्गसन्धिषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + sandhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; समास: अङ्गानां सन्धयः (joints of the limbs)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narrative context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-priest seated facing a liṅga at Prabhāsa, touching crown, face, throat, and limb-joints in sequence, with subtle luminous syllables appearing at each touched locus.

Characters & Entities

• Nyāsa
• Bīja-syllables (ta/sa/vi/tu)
• Praṇava (context)
• Brahmā (contextual deity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The body is treated as a sacred field—mantra-nyāsa consecrates each region, making worship an embodied discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where such detailed mantra-ritual is taught as part of its māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Assign specific syllables by nyāsa: ‘ta’ on the head, ‘sa’ on the face, ‘vi’ on the throat, and ‘tu’ on the limb-joints.