Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

देवस्य महतो यज्ञे वारुणीं बिभ्रतस्तनुम् । ब्रह्मणो जुह्वतः शुक्रमग्नौ पूर्वं प्रजेप्सया

Transliteration

devasya mahato yajñe vāruṇīṃ bibhratastanum | brahmaṇo juhvataḥ śukramagnau pūrvaṃ prajepsayā

Translation

Autrefois, lors du grand sacrifice du Dieu sublime, tandis que (l’un) portait la forme de Vāruṇī, Brahmā, désirant une descendance, offrit sa semence dans le feu.

Word by Word

• देवस्य: of the god
• देवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘of the god’

• महतः: great
• महतः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — विशेषणम् (qualifying देवस्य) ‘great’

• यज्ञे: in the sacrifice
• यज्ञे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘in the sacrifice’

• वारुणीम्: Vāruṇī
• वारुणीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारुणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘Vāruṇī (a goddess/energy)’

• बिभ्रतः: bearing/holding
• बिभ्रतः: Sambandha (Genitive participial qualifier/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भृ (धातु) → बिभ्रत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘of (him) bearing/holding’ (agreeing with देवस्य)

• तनुम्: a body/form
• तनुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘body/form’

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘of Brahmā’

• जुह्वतः: offering (into fire)
• जुह्वतः: Sambandha (Genitive participial qualifier/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हु (धातु) → जुह्वत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘of (him) offering/sacrificing’ (agreeing with ब्रह्मणः)

• शुक्रम्: seed/essence
• शुक्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘semen/seed; bright essence’

• अग्नौ: in the fire
• अग्नौ: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘in the fire’

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्वम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — कालवाचक (formerly)

• प्रजेप्सया: with desire for offspring
• प्रजेप्सया: Karana (Cause/motive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र + जन् (धातु) + ईप्सा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन — ‘with desire for progeny’; प्रजा + ईप्सा (desire)

Speaker

Unspecified (context suggests a Purāṇic narrator continuing the account to Devī/Varānanā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (implied by adjacent vocatives)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous yajña-kunda with towering, stylized flames; Brahmā in priestly posture (juhvati), pouring a radiant essence into Agni; a figure embodying Vāruṇī (watery, moonlit aura) stands nearby, indicating the assumed form.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Agni
• Varuṇa/Vāruṇī
• Yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creation and lineage are portrayed as sacred, arising through yajña—ritual order mirroring cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative sits within the glorification of Prabhāsa-kṣetra, though this verse is about a primordial sacrificial event.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; yajña imagery is used to explain origins.