Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

अथाब्रवीत्सर्वदेवान्ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः

Transliteration

athābravītsarvadevānbrahmā lokapitāmahaḥ

Translation

Alors Brahmā, l’aïeul des mondes, s’adressa à tous les dieux.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Discourse/Sequence (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरबोधक अव्यय (sequencing adverb)

• abravīt: said/spoke
• abravīt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• sarva-devān: all the gods
• sarva-devān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• loka-pitāmahaḥ: the grandsire of the worlds
• loka-pitāmahaḥ: Apposition to Karta (सम्बोधन/विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'of the worlds')

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: All Devas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial council: Brahmā, four-faced, seated on a lotus-throne, addresses an assembly of devas in a luminous tīrtha landscape, signaling the start of a mahatmya proclamation.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Sarva-devāḥ
• Somnātha
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s greatness is affirmed through collective divine witness—sacred places are upheld by shared cosmic responsibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa sacred complex in the Somnātha/Brahmakuṇḍa episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it introduces Brahmā’s forthcoming instruction to the assembled gods.