Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

स्मृतमात्रा तत्र भित्त्वा पातालतलमुद्ययौ । सा नदीरूपिणी देवी तीर्थकोटिसमन्विता

Transliteration

smṛtamātrā tatra bhittvā pātālatalamudyayau | sā nadīrūpiṇī devī tīrthakoṭisamanvitā

Translation

Aussitôt qu’on se souvint d’elle, elle s’éleva en ce lieu, brisant la surface du Pātāla (le monde souterrain). Cette Déesse, prenant la forme d’une rivière, apparut pourvue d’un koṭi de tīrthas.

Word by Word

• स्मृत-मात्रा: (she) being merely remembered / upon remembrance
• स्मृत-मात्रा: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मृत (कृदन्त, क्त/PPP; √स्मृ) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुष: स्मृता-मात्रा = ‘merely remembered’ (i.e., on being remembered)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• भित्त्वा: having pierced
• भित्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भिद् (धातु) → भित्त्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय/gerund)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) — ‘having split/pierced’

• पाताल-तलम्: the netherworld level
• पाताल-तलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पातालस्य तलम् — ‘the floor/level of the netherworld’

• उद्ययौ: rose up
• उद्ययौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-या (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद — ‘rose up/went up’

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular (demonstrative pronoun)

• नदी-रूपिणी: river-formed
• नदी-रूपिणी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुष: नदीरूपा (having the form of a river)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• तीर्थ-कोटि-समन्विता: endowed with a crore of sacred fords
• तीर्थ-कोटि-समन्विता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त, क्त/PPP; √अन्वि/अन्वि-सम्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुष: तीर्थकोट्या समन्विता — ‘endowed with a crore of tīrthas’

Speaker

Narrative voice (continuation of Sūrya’s account within the dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭitīrtha (contextual) / Prabhāsa-tīrtha complex

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Sūta frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From the netherworld’s strata a radiant river-goddess bursts upward, splitting the earth; around her shimmer innumerable tīrtha-emblems like lotuses, conches, and miniature ghāṭas, suggesting ‘a crore of tīrthas’ contained in one stream.

Characters & Entities

• Yamunā (river-goddess implied)
• Pātāla
• Tīrtha-koṭi
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine forces respond to remembrance and invocation; sacred waters embody concentrated tīrtha-power for purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where a river-goddess manifestation is described as carrying tīrtha-koṭi potency.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports smaraṇa (remembrance) and tīrtha-related acts like river contact/bathing, though bathing is not explicitly stated.