Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

कारयित्वा मंडपांश्च प्रतिष्ठाप्य यथाविधि । नदानां तु शतं कृत्वा वापीकूप सहस्रकम्

Transliteration

kārayitvā maṃḍapāṃśca pratiṣṭhāpya yathāvidhi | nadānāṃ tu śataṃ kṛtvā vāpīkūpa sahasrakam

Translation

Après avoir fait bâtir des maṇḍapa et les avoir consacrés selon la règle, et après avoir creusé cent canaux d’écoulement des eaux, il fit encore édifier mille vāpī (puits à degrés) et des puits.

Word by Word

• कारयित्वा: having caused to be built
• कारयित्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कारय् (धातु, णिच् causative of कृ) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having caused to be made)

• मण्डपान्: pavilions, halls
• मण्डपान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (accusative plural)

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

• प्रतिष्ठाप्य: having installed
• प्रतिष्ठाप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + स्था (धातु) + णिच् (स्थापय्) + ल्यप् (प्रतिष्ठाप्य)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having installed/established)

• यथाविधि: according to the prescribed rite
• यथाविधि: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; क्रियाविशेषण (according to rule)

• नदानाम्: of rivers
• नदानाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (genitive plural)

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Nipāta (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विशेषार्थक (particle)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (accusative singular); संख्यावाचक नाम (a hundred)

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having made)

• वापीकूपसहस्रकम्: a thousand wells and ponds
• वापीकूपसहस्रकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वापी + कूप + सहस्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (वाप्यः च कूपाः च) + सहस्रक (a thousand [set])

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya; traditionally Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Someśvara/Somnath at Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Artisans raise pillared maṇḍapas; priests perform pratiṣṭhā rites; channels carry flowing water; a landscape dotted with stepwells and wells appears as a sacred network around Someshvara.

Characters & Entities

• Soma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is expressed not only through worship but through loka-hita—public works like water-sources and consecrated shelters that sustain pilgrims and residents at a sacred kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, especially the sacred vicinity associated with Śrī Someśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pratiṣṭhā (proper installation/consecration) of mandapas, and dhārmic acts of dāna through creating water infrastructure—channels, wells, and stepwells.