Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

शतवर्षसहस्राणां तपश्चक्रे सुदुश्चरम् । दशवर्षसहस्राणि दित्या गर्भे स्थितः पुरा

Transliteration

śatavarṣasahasrāṇāṃ tapaścakre suduścaram | daśavarṣasahasrāṇi dityā garbhe sthitaḥ purā

Translation

Il accomplit des austérités d’une rigueur extrême durant cent mille ans. Jadis, il était demeuré dix mille ans dans le sein de Diti.

Word by Word

• śatavarṣasahasrāṇām: of thousands of hundred-years (i.e., for many thousands of years)
• śatavarṣasahasrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata + varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; संख्या-सम्बन्धे समास (शतवर्षाणां सहस्राणि इति)

• tapaḥ: austerity, penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• cakre: performed/did
• cakre: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• suduścaram: very difficult (to perform)
• suduścaram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + duścara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (तपः इत्यस्य)

• daśavarṣasahasrāṇi: ten-thousands of years
• daśavarṣasahasrāṇi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa + varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा (2nd/1st), बहुवचन; संख्या-सम्बन्धे समास

• dityāḥ: of Diti
• dityāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• garbhe: in the womb
• garbhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• sthitaḥ: having remained/being situated
• sthitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• purā: formerly, once
• purā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two-part visualization: (1) Hiraṇyakaśipu in fierce austerity for 100,000 years—emaciated, surrounded by heat and stillness; (2) a symbolic womb-scene of Diti with the embryo enduring 10,000 years, emphasizing extraordinary gestation and destiny.

Characters & Entities

• Hiraṇyakaśipu (implied)
• Diti
• Tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas grants potency, but its value depends on alignment with dharma; power without righteousness becomes destructive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it belongs to the Prabhāsakṣetra māhātmya’s narrative sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription—only the account of prolonged austerity and gestation.