Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

ऊर्द्ध्वबाहवस्तथा चान्ये अन्ये ध्यायंति तद्गताः । तस्मिन्स्थानं महादेवि देविकायास्तटे शुभे

Transliteration

ūrddhvabāhavastathā cānye anye dhyāyaṃti tadgatāḥ | tasminsthānaṃ mahādevi devikāyāstaṭe śubhe

Translation

D’autres se tenaient les bras levés ; d’autres encore, absorbés en Lui, méditaient. En ce lieu même, ô Grande Déesse, sur la rive propice de la rivière Devikā…

Word by Word

• ऊर्द्ध्वबाहवः: those with raised arms
• ऊर्द्ध्वबाहवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊर्द्ध्व-बाहु (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; ऊर्द्ध्वाः बाहवः यस्य/येषां ते

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अन्ये: others (again)
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (पूर्वपद-समुच्चय/पुनरुक्ति)

• ध्यायन्ति: they meditate
• ध्यायन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• तद्गताः: having gone to that (place/state)
• तद्गताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद्-गत (कृदन्त; समास)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), ‘गम्’ धातु से ‘गत’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तस्मिन् गताः = तद्गताः

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• स्थानम्: place, abode
• स्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• देविकायाः: of Devikā
• देविकायाः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देविका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• तटे: on the bank
• तटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• शुभे: auspicious
• शुभे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तटं विशेषयति

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Devī/Umā; indicated by 'mahādevi' and continued first-person in vv. 11–13)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devikā-taṭa (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Umā (mahādevi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the bright bank of the Devikā, some devotees stand with arms raised in surrender; nearby, others sit in still meditation, eyes half-closed, bodies steady; the river flows quietly, contrasting with earlier festivity.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī (Devī/Umā)
• Devikā (river)
• Meditators

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The highest response to a holy place is inner absorption—dhyāna—alongside outward devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The auspicious Devikā-taṭa (bank of the Devikā river) within Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditation (dhyāna) and devotional postures (raised arms in prayer) are described as practiced there.