Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेद्वरारोहे प्रभासेश्वरमुत्तमम् । गौरीतपोवनाद्देवि पश्चिमे समुदाहृतम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchedvarārohe prabhāseśvaramuttamam | gaurītapovanāddevi paścime samudāhṛtam

Translation

Īśvara dit : Alors, ô Déesse aux hanches gracieuses, qu’on se rende au suprême Prabhāseśvara, que l’on dit situé à l’ouest du bois d’austérités de Gaurī.

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: thereafter/from there)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; आदेश/विधि (should go)

• वरारोहे: O fair-hipped one
• वरारोहे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर + आरोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (वरम् आरोहः यस्याः सा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• प्रभासेश्वरम्: Prabhāseśvara
• प्रभासेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (प्रभासस्य ईश्वरः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent/supreme
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of प्रभासेश्वरम्)

• गौरीतपोवनात्: from Gaurī’s grove of penance
• गौरीतपोवनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी + तपोवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गौर्याः तपोवनम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (from)

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• पश्चिमे: to the west
• पश्चिमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पश्चिम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; दिशावाचक-विशेषण (locative: in the west)

• समुदाहृतम्: is said/declared
• समुदाहृतम्: Kriya (Predicate complement/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उद् + आ + हृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (said/declared)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāseśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Devī on the next pilgrimage stop: the supreme Prabhāseśvara shrine situated west of Gaurī’s tapovana, with the sea-wind and coastal light suggesting Prabhāsa’s littoral sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pārvatī (Devī/Gaurī)
• Prabhāseśvara
• Gaurī-tapovana
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage (yātrā) is framed as a guided movement through sacred geography, where specific directions and sites are spiritually meaningful.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāseśvara in Prabhāsa-kṣetra, located west of Gaurī-tapovana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yātrā-instruction: “one should go” (gacchet) to Prabhāseśvara; no further rite is detailed in this verse.