Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

पावित्र्याद्भवतां जातं त्रैनेत्र्यं मुनिसत्तमाः । एवमुक्त्वा ततः शंभुर्ध्यानस्तिमितलोचनः । सस्मार क्षणमात्रेण गंगां मीनकुलावृताम्

Transliteration

pāvitryādbhavatāṃ jātaṃ trainetryaṃ munisattamāḥ | evamuktvā tataḥ śaṃbhurdhyānastimitalocanaḥ | sasmāra kṣaṇamātreṇa gaṃgāṃ mīnakulāvṛtām

Translation

«Ô meilleurs des sages, de votre pureté est née la condition de “trois yeux”.» Ayant ainsi parlé, Śambhu—les yeux immobiles dans la méditation—se souvint, en un instant, de la Gaṅgā, entourée de bancs de poissons.

Word by Word

• pāvitryāt: from purity; due to sanctity
• pāvitryāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāvitrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhavatām: of you (honoured ones)
• bhavatām: Sambandha (Possessor/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम-प्रयोग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• jātam: arisen; produced
• jātam: Karmaṇi-bhāva / Predicative qualifier
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) + kta (क्त) → jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying)

• trainetryam: three-eyed state; trinetra-hood
• trainetryam: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/that which is produced)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + netra (प्रातिपदिक) → trainetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (three + eyes)

• munisattamāḥ: O best of sages
• munisattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रयोगः (addressing sense)

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vac (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/अनन्तरवाचक (then/thereafter)

• śaṃbhuḥ: Śambhu (Śiva)
• śaṃbhuḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• dhyāna-stimita-locanaḥ: whose eyes were motionless in meditation
• dhyāna-stimita-locanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of śaṃbhuḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक) + stimita (प्रातिपदिक) + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (dhyānena stimite locane yasya)

• sasmāra: remembered; called to mind
• sasmāra: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• kṣaṇa-mātreṇa: in just a moment
• kṣaṇa-mātreṇa: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (only a moment)

• gaṃgām: Gaṅgā
• gaṃgām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• mīna-kula-āvṛtām: surrounded by a shoal of fish
• mīna-kula-āvṛtām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of gaṃgām)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mīna (प्रातिपदिक) + kula (प्रातिपदिक) + āvṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) ‘āvṛta’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (by a school of fish covered/surrounded)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within the dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Gaṅgā-āhvāna episode)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: implied audience within the Purāṇic frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Śambhu) becomes still-eyed in meditation; the sages behold his three-eyed majesty. In the mind’s instant, he remembers Gaṅgā teeming with fish.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śambhu)
• Gaṅgā
• Ṛṣis
• Matsya (fish)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity and divine contemplation transform beings, and Śiva’s meditative will can manifest sacred realities instantly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where Śiva’s yogic power draws Gaṅgā to sanctify the locale.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse highlights dhyāna (meditative absorption) as Śiva’s means of invoking Gaṅgā.