Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । इति प्रोक्ता तदा देवी शंकरेण यशस्विनी । पुनः पप्रच्छ विप्रेंद्राः क्षेत्रमाहात्म्यविस्तरम्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | iti proktā tadā devī śaṃkareṇa yaśasvinī | punaḥ papraccha vipreṃdrāḥ kṣetramāhātmyavistaram

Translation

Sūta dit : Ainsi, la Déesse illustre, après avoir été instruite par Śaṅkara, interrogea de nouveau—ô meilleurs des brāhmaṇas—sur le récit détaillé de la grandeur du champ sacré, Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• proktā: having been spoken to / addressed
• proktā: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prokta (कृदन्त; √vac (वच्) + pra उपसर्ग, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) — 'having been addressed/said'

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• devī: the goddess
• devī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• śaṃkareṇa: by Śaṅkara
• śaṃkareṇa: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• yaśasvinī: glorious
• yaśasvinī: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yaśasvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरावृत्तिवाचक अव्यय (again)

• papraccha: asked
• papraccha: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prach (प्रछ्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vipra-indrāḥ: O best Brahmins
• vipra-indrāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयार्थ: 'विप्रेषु इन्द्राः' (O best of Brahmins)

• kṣetra-māhātmya-vistaram: the detailed account of the field’s greatness
• kṣetra-māhātmya-vistaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक) + vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'क्षेत्रस्य माहात्म्यस्य विस्तारः'

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta-narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other sages (viprendrāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta narrates to assembled brāhmaṇa sages; within the inner scene, Devī, praised by Śaṅkara, asks again for an expanded account of Prabhāsa’s greatness.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Devī (Pārvatī)
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry into tīrtha-māhātmya is itself valued—listening and asking with faith is portrayed as a gateway to dharma and understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, introduced as the ‘kṣetra’ whose māhātmya is to be explained in detail.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the emphasis is on śravaṇa (hearing) and praśna (devotional questioning) as preparatory acts.