Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि बालार्कं पापनाशनम् । अगस्त्याश्रमतो देवि उत्तरे नातिदूरतः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi bālārkaṃ pāpanāśanam | agastyāśramato devi uttare nātidūrataḥ

Translation

Īśvara dit : Ensuite, ô Grande Déesse, il faut se rendre à Bālārka, destructeur des péchés, situé au nord de l’āśrama d’Agastya, non loin de là.

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय/क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• महादेवि: O Mahādevī
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन; समासः: महा + देवी (कर्मधारय)

• बालार्कम्: Bālārka (the ‘child Sun’ shrine)
• बालार्कम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; समासः: बालार्क (कर्मधारय)

• पापनाशनम्: destroyer of sins
• पापनाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (बालार्कम्); समासः: पापस्य नाशनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• अगस्त्याश्रमतः: from Agastya’s hermitage
• अगस्त्याश्रमतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अगस्त्य + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी-तसिल् (ablatival adverbial), एकवचनार्थ; समासः: अगस्त्यस्य आश्रमः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + तसिल्

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन

• उत्तरे: to the north
• उत्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोगः (दिशावाचक/locative adverbial), ‘उत्तरे’ = उत्तरदिशि (in the north)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• अतिदूरतः: very far (away)
• अतिदूरतः: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति + दूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी-तसिल् (ablatival adverbial): ‘from too far’ → idiomatically ‘very far’; अव्ययीभाव: अति + दूरतः

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bālārka

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Devī like a guide: ‘Then go to Bālārka’; a pilgrim path leading north from a hermitage toward a radiant Sun-shrine/tīrtha, with early morning light suggesting purification.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Devī
• Bālārka (Sūrya)
• Agastyāśrama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is mapped as a dharmic journey—moving from one sanctified site to another for pāpa-kṣaya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bālārka, a Sun-related tīrtha located north of Agastya’s āśrama in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is to visit (gacchet) the Bālārka shrine for sin-destruction.