Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 102

Devanagari script

चर्मणा चावगुंठ्यैव आलिख्यास्त्रेण पार्वति । उल्लिख्य प्रोक्षणं कृत्वा खातं कृत्वा विधानतः

Transliteration

carmaṇā cāvaguṃṭhyaiva ālikhyāstreṇa pārvati | ullikhya prokṣaṇaṃ kṛtvā khātaṃ kṛtvā vidhānataḥ

Translation

Ô Pārvatī, après avoir couvert l’espace d’une peau et l’avoir délimité par le rite de l’astra, on doit ensuite le racler pour le rendre net ; après l’aspersion, on creusera la fosse selon la règle prescrite.

Word by Word

• carmaṇā: with a hide/skin
• carmaṇā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (and)

• avaguṃṭhya: having covered
• avaguṃṭhya: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava- + guṇṭh (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यपन्त-अव्यय (gerund): 'having covered/veiled'

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (indeed/just)

• ālikhya: having drawn/marked
• ālikhya: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā- + likh (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यपन्त-अव्यय (gerund): 'having drawn/inscribed'

• astreṇa: with a weapon/mantra-weapon
• astreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: astra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• pārvati: O Pārvatī
• pārvati: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• ullikhya: having scraped out
• ullikhya: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud- + likh (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यपन्त-अव्यय (gerund): 'having scraped/etched out'

• prokṣaṇam: sprinkling (rite)
• prokṣaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prokṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + tvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund): 'having done'

• khātam: a dug pit/trench
• khātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khāta (प्रातिपदिक; PPP of √khan)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'dug (pit)'

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + tvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund): 'having made'

• vidhānataḥ: according to procedure
• vidhānataḥ: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तस्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्यय (according to rule/prescription)

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Pārvatī explicitly)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Priests cover the chosen spot with a hide (carman) as a protective layer; one priest inscribes boundary lines while chanting; others scrape the surface clean, sprinkle sanctified liquid, and begin digging the kuṇḍa pit with measured tools.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Astra-mantra
• Prokṣaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through careful, rule-guided worship where outer precision supports inner reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where ritual correctness is presented as especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cover and demarcate the site, cleanse by scraping, sprinkle for purity, then excavate the pit according to vidhāna.