Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

ततस्ते न्यवसंस्तत्र किंचित्कालं समाहिताः । गत्वा क्षेत्रं महापुण्यं ततः कृष्णाऽब्रवीदिदम्

Transliteration

tataste nyavasaṃstatra kiṃcitkālaṃ samāhitāḥ | gatvā kṣetraṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ tataḥ kṛṣṇā'bravīdidam

Translation

«Alors ils demeurèrent là quelque temps, l’esprit recueilli. Parvenus à cette contrée sacrée au mérite immense, Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) prononça ces paroles.»

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: अनन्तरम् (thereafter)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Pronoun: Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• nyavasan: stayed, dwelt
• nyavasan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni√vas (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत) = Imperfect/Past; प्रथमपुरुषः बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb of place

• kiṃcit-kālam: for some time
• kiṃcit-kālam: Kriya-visheshana (Duration/कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃcit (अव्यय) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (accusative of duration)

• samāhitāḥ: composed, attentive
• samāhitāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-√dhā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, भूतकर्मणि/स्थितिवाचक); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) = having gone

• kṣetram: the sacred place/field
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्

• mahā-puṇyam: very holy
• mahā-puṇyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमासः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (qualifying kṣetram)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = thereafter

• kṛṣṇā: Krishna (as feminine form in text; contextually speaker)
• kṛṣṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• abravīt: said
• abravīt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लिट्/लङ्-प्रयोगः (परम्परापाठभेदे); सामान्यतः लङ्/लिट् भूतार्थे; प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (pronoun)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Pāṇḍavas camp calmly in Prabhāsa; a sacred grove/shore nearby; Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā) prepares to speak, with attentive brothers seated, fire and water pots present.

Characters & Entities

• Pāṇḍavas
• Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-vāsa (dwelling at a sacred place) is portrayed as steadying the mind and generating puṇya, preparing one for dharmic action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The “mahāpuṇya” kṣetra of Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied tīrtha-vāsa (staying at the sacred site); explicit ritual instructions appear in the following verses.