Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । पृथिव्या मध्यगर्भस्थं जंबूद्वीपमिति स्मृतम् । तच्च वै नवधा भिन्नं वर्षभेदेन सुन्दरि

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | pṛthivyā madhyagarbhasthaṃ jaṃbūdvīpamiti smṛtam | tacca vai navadhā bhinnaṃ varṣabhedena sundari

Translation

Īśvara dit : «Au cœur même de la terre se trouve ce que l’on nomme Jambūdvīpa. Ô belle, il est en vérité divisé en neuf parts, distinguées en régions (varṣa) séparées.»

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्ण), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect 3rd sg “said”

• pṛthivyāḥ: of the earth
• pṛthivyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन — Genitive singular “of the earth”

• madhya-garbha-stham: situated in the earth’s central interior
• madhya-garbha-stham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + garbha (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — adjective qualifying जंबूद्वीपम्; तत्पुरुषः “situated in the middle-interior”

• jaṃbū-dvīpam: Jambūdvīpa
• jaṃbū-dvīpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṃbū (प्रातिपदिक) + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Accusative singular; तत्पुरुषः (जम्बूनामकः द्वीपः)

• iti: thus/as
• iti: Quotation marker (इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक अव्यय — quotative particle

• smṛtam: is known/called
• smṛtam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु) → smṛta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — past passive participle: “is called/remembered” (elliptic with ‘asti’)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun “that (Jambūdvīpa)”

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय — “and/also”

• vai: indeed
• vai: Emphasis particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle) — “indeed”

• navadhā: into nine parts/ways
• navadhā: Manner (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nava (प्रातिपदिक) + dhā (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (संख्यावाचक-विभागार्थक) — “in nine ways”

• bhinnam: is divided
• bhinnam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhid (धातु) → bhinna (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — past passive participle: “divided” (predicate)

• varṣa-bhedena: by the division into regions (varṣas)
• varṣa-bhedena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन — Instrumental singular; तत्पुरुषः “by division into varṣas (regions)”

• sundari: O beautiful one
• sundari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sundarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन — Vocative singular

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Jambūdvīpa
• Pṛthivī
• Varṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa frames geography as sacred order: the world is structured meaningfully, preparing the listener to value holy regions and dharma within them.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse is cosmological, but it occurs within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, which ultimately glorifies Prabhāsa (Somnātha region) as a supreme sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces the cosmographic setting (Jambūdvīpa and its nine varṣas).