Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पूर्व कल्पे महादेवि देहमत्रात्यजद्धरिः । अस्मिन्कल्पेपि च पुनर्गात्रोत्सर्गमिति स्मृतम्

Transliteration

pūrva kalpe mahādevi dehamatrātyajaddhariḥ | asminkalpepi ca punargātrotsargamiti smṛtam

Translation

Ô Grande Déesse, dans un kalpa ancien Hari abandonna ici son corps ; et dans ce kalpa aussi, on s’en souvient encore comme d’un lieu de renoncement au corps.

Word by Word

• pūrve: in the former
• pūrve: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of kalpa)

• kalpe: in the kalpa (aeon)
• kalpe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• deham: body
• deham: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• atyajat: abandoned
• atyajat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; अधिकरणे

• kalpe: kalpa
• kalpe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि (particle: also/even)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• punar: again
• punar: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनर् (adverb: again)

• gātrotsargam: abandoning the body
• gātrotsargam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra-utsarga (प्रातिपदिक; गात्र + उत्सर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (in reported statement)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति (quotative)

• smṛtam: is remembered/recorded
• smṛtam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः (impersonal: 'is remembered')

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (gātrotsarga-sthāna of Hari)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī/Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn yet wondrous vision of Prabhāsa-kṣetra as a timeless shore-tīrtha: the sea’s edge, sacred groves, and luminous signs marking the spot where Hari relinquished the body in a former kalpa and again in the present kalpa—suggesting cyclical cosmic memory.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī
• Hari

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are portrayed as timeless across kalpas, carrying enduring spiritual potency and remembered divine events.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘here’ refers to the Prabhāsa sacred region in this Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the verse provides sacred-historical justification for the site’s sanctity.