Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि ऋषितीर्थस्य सन्निधौ । कामिकं हि परं क्षेत्रं देविकानाम नामतः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi ṛṣitīrthasya sannidhau | kāmikaṃ hi paraṃ kṣetraṃ devikānāma nāmataḥ

Translation

Īśvara dit : Ensuite, ô Grande Déesse, qu’on s’approche du Ṛṣi-tīrtha. Là se trouve un kṣetra suprême, nommé Kāmika, connu sous le nom de Devikā.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla/Desha-adhikaraṇa (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रयोगः (adverb of sequence)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• ṛṣitīrthasya: of the Sage’s ford (Ṛṣi-tīrtha)
• ṛṣitīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi-tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन

• sannidhau: near; in the vicinity
• sannidhau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sannidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन

• kāmikam: desire-fulfilling; Kāmi-ka
• kāmikam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.); एकवचन; विशेषण

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण

• kṣetram: sacred place; field
• kṣetram: Karma/Pratipādya (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• devikānām: of the Devikās (goddesses)
• devikānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन (Plural)

• nāmataḥ: by name
• nāmataḥ: Hetu/Prakāra (By name/manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāmatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛṣi-tīrtha; Kāmika-kṣetra (Devikā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (as narrator) indicates the route to the next tīrtha: a pilgrim path leading from a coastal shrine toward a hermitage-like water spot (Ṛṣi-tīrtha), with signifying markers of a ‘supreme kṣetra’ named Devikā/Kāmika.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī
• Ṛṣi-tīrtha
• Devikā
• Kāmika-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as a guided movement through sacred geography, where approaching specific tīrthas opens access to ‘supreme’ kṣetras and their merits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ṛṣi-tīrtha and the nearby Kāmika kṣetra, also called Devikā, within Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage instruction: ‘one should go’ (gacchet) to the vicinity of Ṛṣi-tīrtha to reach the Devikā/Kāmika sacred area.