Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सांब उवाच । एष वै ब्रह्मणो भागः प्रभासे क्षेत्र उत्तमे । अत्र वै ब्राह्मणा ये तु ते वै श्रेष्ठाः स्मृता भुवि

Transliteration

sāṃba uvāca | eṣa vai brahmaṇo bhāgaḥ prabhāse kṣetra uttame | atra vai brāhmaṇā ye tu te vai śreṣṭhāḥ smṛtā bhuvi

Translation

Sāmba dit : « Ce Prabhāsa suprême, ce kṣetra d’excellence, est véritablement une part de la puissance même de Brahmā. Et les brāhmaṇas qui demeurent ici sont, sur terre, tenus pour les plus éminents. »

Word by Word

• सांबः: Sāmba
• सांबः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सांब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वै: indeed
• वै: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā/Brahman
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• भागः: portion/share
• भागः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• क्षेत्रे: in the sacred field/place
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• उत्तमे: excellent
• उत्तमे: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying क्षेत्रे)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (here)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेष-निपात (but/indeed)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• वै: indeed
• वै: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• श्रेष्ठाः: the best
• श्रेष्ठाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ते)

• स्मृताः: are considered/remembered
• स्मृताः: Kriyā (Passive predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• भुवि: on earth
• भुवि: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Sāmba

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sāmba delivers a formal praise: Prabhāsa shines as a cosmic portion of Brahmā’s power; brāhmaṇas of the kṣetra are honored as foremost on earth.

Characters & Entities

• Sāmba
• Brahmā
• Prabhāsa
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha becomes a living field of dharma when revered as divine, and honoring its righteous brāhmaṇas is part of honoring the sacred place itself.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Prabhāsa Tīrtha), praised as an exceptionally sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes the sanctity of the place and the eminence of its brāhmaṇas.