Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

बभूव सर्वब्रह्माण्डे ह्यकाण्डक्षयकारणम् । अक्षौहिणीसहस्राणि त्रयस्त्रिंशत्सुरेश्वरि

Transliteration

babhūva sarvabrahmāṇḍe hyakāṇḍakṣayakāraṇam | akṣauhiṇīsahasrāṇi trayastriṃśatsureśvari

Translation

Ô Reine des dieux, dans l’univers entier cela devint cause d’une ruine soudaine : trente-trois mille akṣauhiṇīs (divisions complètes d’armée) y furent engagées/terrassées.

Word by Word

• babhūva: became/occurred
• babhūva: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• sarva-brahmāṇḍe: in the entire universe
• sarva-brahmāṇḍe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + brahmāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (सर्वेषु ब्रह्माण्डेषु) समासार्थः

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ

• akāṇḍa-kṣaya-kāraṇam: a cause of sudden destruction
• akāṇḍa-kṣaya-kāraṇam: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/Theme)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (अकाण्डः क्षयः तस्य कारणम्)

• akṣauhiṇī-sahasrāṇi: thousands of akṣauhiṇīs (army-units)
• akṣauhiṇī-sahasrāṇi: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/Theme)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣauhiṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (अक्षौहिणीनां सहस्राणि)

• trayastriṃśat: thirty-three
• trayastriṃśat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayastriṃśat (संख्यावाचक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या (numeral), अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; विशेषण (indeclinable numeral in apposition)

• sureśvari: O queen of the gods
• sureśvari: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sureśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Deductive (Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narrative voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa relating the Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sureśvarī (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The narrator addresses the ‘Queen of the gods’ as the battle’s devastation is said to spread across the entire universe; innumerable akṣauhiṇīs are evoked as being destroyed or engaged.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Sureśvarī (addressed goddess)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma, even when vast in force, is fragile before Devī’s will; cosmic order is restored swiftly when the divine acts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha region), within the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a battlefield magnitude statement within the Māhātmya narrative.