Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अथ कालेन महता प्राप्ता तत्र सरस्वती । वडवाग्निं समादाय तयानुप्लावितं पुनः

Transliteration

atha kālena mahatā prāptā tatra sarasvatī | vaḍavāgniṃ samādāya tayānuplāvitaṃ punaḥ

Translation

Après un long temps, Sarasvatī arriva en ce lieu ; portant le Vaḍavāgni, elle inonda de nouveau cet endroit.

Word by Word

• अथ: then/now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-निपात (sequence particle)

• कालेन: with/by time; in course of time
• कालेन: Karana (Instrument/Time-measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महता: great/long
• महता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (कालेन)

• प्राप्ता: arrived/reached
• प्राप्ता: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय (finite sense: 'arrived')

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

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• सरस्वती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वडवाग्निम्: the submarine fire (Vaḍavāgni)
• वडवाग्निम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वडवा + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वडवायाः अग्निः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समादाय: having taken
• समादाय: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्+आ+दा (धातु) → समादाय (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• तया: by her/with her
• तया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — सर्वनाम

• अनुप्लावितम्: flooded/washed over
• अनुप्लावितम्: Karma (Affected entity/कर्म-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनु+प्लु (धातु) → अनुप्लावित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: णिच्-प्रत्ययान्त causative + क्त/PPP, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरावृत्ति-वाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa tīrtha renewed by Sarasvatī (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Goddess Sarasvatī personified as a radiant river-deity arrives after ages, carrying within her the mysterious vaḍavāgni; waters surge and inundate the sacred tract, with swirling currents and a subtle fiery glow beneath the waves.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī (river)
• Vaḍavāgni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred landscapes are shown as dynamically shaped by divine rivers and cosmic forces, renewing tīrthas over time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Prabhāsa-kṣetra locality, now affected and renewed by Sarasvatī’s arrival and inundation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it narrates a sanctifying transformation of the site.