Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

चिंतयंतः शुभं देशं द्रष्टुं तं गजरूपिणम् । रुद्रं पितामहाख्यातं कुबेराश्रमवासिनम्

Transliteration

ciṃtayaṃtaḥ śubhaṃ deśaṃ draṣṭuṃ taṃ gajarūpiṇam | rudraṃ pitāmahākhyātaṃ kuberāśramavāsinam

Translation

Méditant sur cette terre de bon augure, ils désirèrent contempler Rudra—à la forme d’éléphant—dont Pitāmaha avait parlé, demeurant à l’ermitage de Kubera.

Word by Word

• cintayantaḥ: thinking
• cintayantaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: cint (धातु) + शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा बहुवचन; (while) thinking

• śubham: auspicious
• śubham: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण

• deśam: place, region
• deśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• draṣṭum: to see
• draṣṭum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + तुमुन् (तुमुन्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive), प्रयोजनार्थक (to see)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• gaja-rūpiṇam: in elephant form
• gaja-rūpiṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (having elephant-form)

• rudram: Rudra
• rudram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• pitāmaha-ākhyātam: known as ‘Pitāmaha’
• pitāmaha-ākhyātam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √khyā with ā-)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (called/known as Pitāmaha)

• kubera-āśrama-vāsinam: dwelling in Kubera’s āśrama
• kubera-āśrama-vāsinam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kubera (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (dwelling in Kubera’s hermitage)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kubera-āśrama (goal) / śubha-deśa of Prabhāsa (path-land)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics walking in quiet concentration, eyes softened, lips murmuring mantra; ahead lies Kubera’s hermitage amid trees; a serene, luminous elephant-form Rudra is envisioned/anticipated.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Kubera

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred travel is not merely movement; it is mindful remembrance of the holy place and the deity who sanctifies it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kubera’s Āśrama as an auspicious locale within Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the emphasis is on darśana and contemplative focus on the tīrtha.