Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

वकारं हृदि मध्ये तु रेकारं पार्श्वयोर्द्वयोः । णिकारं दक्षिणे कुक्षौ यकारं वामसंज्ञिते

Transliteration

vakāraṃ hṛdi madhye tu rekāraṃ pārśvayordvayoḥ | ṇikāraṃ dakṣiṇe kukṣau yakāraṃ vāmasaṃjñite

Translation

Qu’on place la syllabe «va» au milieu du cœur ; «ra» sur les deux flancs ; «ṇa» sur le côté droit de l’abdomen ; et «ya» sur ce qu’on nomme le côté gauche.

Word by Word

• वकारम्: the letter ‘va’
• वकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘व’-वर्णः

• हृदि: in the heart
• हृदि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; स्थानवाचक (in the middle)

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

• रेकारम्: the letter ‘re’
• रेकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rekāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘रे’-वर्णः

• पार्श्वयोः: on the two sides
• पार्श्वयोः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), द्विवचन; ‘of/on the two sides’ (locative sense intended, but form is genitive-dual)

• द्वयोः: of the two
• द्वयोः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् qualifying ‘पार्श्वयोः’

• णिकारम्: the letter ‘ṇi’
• णिकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṇikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘णि’-वर्णः

• दक्षिणे: on the right
• दक्षिणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘on the right (side)’

• कुक्षौ: in the belly/side
• कुक्षौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kukṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वैकल्पिक-रूप; classical loc.sg often ‘कुक्षौ’); ‘in the belly/side’

• यकारम्: the letter ‘ya’
• यकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘य’-वर्णः

• वामसंज्ञिते: in the (region) termed ‘left’
• वामसंज्ञिते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñita (√ज्ञा + सम्, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समास: वाम-इति संज्ञिते (in the place called ‘left’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya instructional tone)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close, intimate ritual moment: the practitioner’s palm rests on the heart, then moves to both flanks and abdomen; each touch reveals a glowing syllable hovering like a seed-mantra.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sanctifying the body through nyāsa turns it into a fit vessel for worship, aligning speech-syllables with sacred bodily loci.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, praised through detailed ritual discipline taught within its Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A nyāsa instruction: assigning specific mantra-syllables (‘va, ra, ṇa, ya’) to heart, flanks, and abdomen.