Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

प्राङ्मुखो भगवान्देवो कूर्मरूपी व्यवस्थितः । आक्रम्य भारतं वर्षं नवभेदमिदं प्रिये

Transliteration

prāṅmukho bhagavāndevo kūrmarūpī vyavasthitaḥ | ākramya bhārataṃ varṣaṃ navabhedamidaṃ priye

Translation

Tourné vers l’orient, le Seigneur Bienheureux, établi sous la forme de Kūrma (la Tortue), embrasse Bhārata-varṣa—cette terre bien-aimée, partagée en neuf parts, ô bien-aimée.

Word by Word

• prāṅmukhaḥ: facing east
• prāṅmukhaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier of devaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāṅ (अव्यय/दिक्शब्द) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्राङ्-दिक् + मुख (दिक्-तत्पुरुष)

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गुणवाचक-नाम

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; apposition to bhagavān)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kūrma-rūpī: having the form of a tortoise
• kūrma-rūpī: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier of devaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kūrma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कूर्मरूपः यस्य सः (रूपिन्-प्रत्यय), तत्पुरुष

• vyavasthitaḥ: is stationed/settled
• vyavasthitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate adjective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ava-√sthā (स्था धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: व्यवस्थित)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्थितः/स्थितवान्’

• ākramya: having covered/stepped over
• ākramya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया/Absolutive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√kram (क्रम् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having stepped upon/covered)

• bhāratam: Bhārata (India)
• bhāratam: Karma (कर्म/Object of ākramya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; देशवाचक

• varṣam: the region/land
• varṣam: Karma (कर्म/Apposition to bhāratam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘वर्ष’ (region/continent)

• nava-bhedam: ninefold (as divisions)
• nava-bhedam: Karma (कर्म/Predicate object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nava (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नव (संख्या) + भेद (द्विगु: ‘ninefold division’)

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म/Object complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; अत्र द्वितीया (this [ninefold division])

• priye: O dear one
• priye: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; प्रिय (address)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhārata-varṣa (navabheda)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Priyā/Mahādevī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand iconographic map: Viṣṇu as a colossal tortoise facing east, with Bhārata spread across/within him, marked into nine divisions; the Goddess is addressed affectionately as ‘priye’.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavān
• Kūrma
• Bhārata-varṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is contemplated as the Lord’s embodied presence—inviting devotion to the land as a dharmic, divine form.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Prabhāsakṣetra through the chapter setting; the verse itself focuses on Bhārata-varṣa’s divine, ninefold structure.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated here.