Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

दक्ष उवाच । शृणु सोम प्रयत्नेन श्रुत्वा चैवावधारय । वारुणीं दिशमाश्रित्य सागरानूपसन्निधौ

Transliteration

dakṣa uvāca | śṛṇu soma prayatnena śrutvā caivāvadhāraya | vāruṇīṃ diśamāśritya sāgarānūpasannidhau

Translation

Dakṣa dit : «Écoute avec application, ô Soma ; après avoir entendu, garde-le fermement en ton esprit. En te tournant vers le quartier de Varuṇa, l’Occident, près de la mer et des marais du littoral…»

Word by Word

• दक्षः: Dakṣa
• दक्षः: Karta (Speaker/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Speech act)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• सोम: O Soma
• सोम: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• प्रयत्नेन: with effort, attentively
• प्रयत्नेन: Karaṇa (Manner/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• अवधारय: retain, understand firmly
• अवधारय: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + धृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• वारुणीम्: western (Varuṇa’s)
• वारुणीम्: Karma (Object of ‘āśritya’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वारुणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (to दिशम्)

• दिशम्: direction
• दिशम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आश्रित्य: having resorted to, going towards
• आश्रित्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial: having resorted to)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + श्रि (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• सागर-अनूप-सन्निधौ: near the sea’s shore-marsh vicinity
• सागर-अनूप-सन्निधौ: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक) + अनूप (प्रातिपदिक) + सन्निधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘सागरस्य अनूपस्य सन्निधौ’ (near the coastal marsh by the sea)

Speaker

Dakṣa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa coastal tirtha zone (westward, sea-adjacent)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Soma

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dakṣa instructs Soma with an authoritative yet compassionate gesture, pointing westward; the sea glimmers and low coastal marsh grasses sway under wind.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Soma
• Varuṇa
• Sāgara (Ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred knowledge about a tīrtha should be heard attentively and retained, because place and direction matter in tīrtha-oriented dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, described in relation to the western quarter near the sea and coastal wetlands.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; it sets the geographic orientation for approaching a sacred locus.